Paphies australis

Taxobox
name = "Paphies australis"
status =
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Mollusca
classis = Bivalvia
ordo = Veneroida
superfamilia = Mactroidea
familia = Mesodesmatidae
genus = "Paphies"
species = "P. australis"
binomial = "Paphies australis"
binomial_authority = (Gmelin, 1790)

"Paphies australis", or pipi in the Māori language, is a bivalve mollusc of the family Mesodesmatidae, endemic to New Zealand.

The pipi is a shellfish with a solid white, elongated shell with the apex at the middle. It is covered by a thin yellow periostracum. It is abundant in sandy and silty mud in estuaries, and harbours where there is considerable water flow. The daily limit is 150 per person, and although a minimum size is not stipulated in the regulations, only larger pipi should be taken. For Māori, pipi are a traditional resource. In earlier times Māori made specific flax baskets to gather them. Smaller specimens would fall between the woven strips and back into the beds as the basket was gently swirled through the water.

Maximum length is 83 mm, and height 51 mm.

References

* [http://www.mollusca.co.nz/checklist/checklist_frameset.htm Checklist of New Zealand Mollusca]
* Powell A. W. B., "New Zealand Mollusca", William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 ISBN 0-00-216906-1