The banded venus, Venus fasciata, is a marine

Marine (ocean)

Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...

 bivalve mollusc in the family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 Veneridae

Veneridae

The Veneridae or venerids, also known as the Venus clams, are a very large family of minute to large, saltwater clams, marine bivalve molluscs. There are over 500 living species of venerid bivalves, most of which are edible, and many of which are exploited as a food source.Many of the most...

. Species currently classified in the genus Venus are generally referred to as venuses or venus clams.

The banded venus has a recorded distribution and common around all coasts of Britain

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

 and Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

. It is found in coarse gravel, typically containing sand or shell fragments, down to depths of as much as 100 m.

This species has a solid, flat, sub-triangular shell which grows to 2.5 cm in length. Surface color is variable; red, pink, purple, yellow or brown with radiating bands and colorful streaks. It may have up to fifteen broad concentric ridges on older specimens. The interior is dull white.