OSTRICH FOOT

(Struthiolaria papulosa).

This fine shellfish grows up to 3 in. in height and is easily recognised by its massive white lip and radiate pattern of reddish-brown bands. It is representative of a family which has developed in New Zealand from Cretaceous times and apparently arrived here, via Antarctica, from South America. Related living species are now found only in Southern Australia, Kerguelen Island, and South Georgia. Our species lives half buried in sand at low tide on coastal beaches.

by Arthur William Baden Powell, Assistant Director, Auckland Institute and Museum.

• OSTRICH FOOT

Warning

This information was published in 1966 in An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock. It has not been corrected and will not be updated.

Up-to-date information can be found elsewhere in Te Ara.