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Pipi
Species

Pipi

Latona deltoides, (Lamarck, 1818)

marine

About Pipi

Plebidonax deltoides or Donax deltoides is a small, edible saltwater clam or marine bivalve mollusc, endemic to Australia. It belongs to the family of either the Donacidae, or the related Psammobiidae. It is most widely known as the pipi (/ˈpɪpi/; also spelled pippi, plural pipis or pippies) in the eastern states of its native Australia. In South Australia, it is called the Coorong cockle, Goolwa cockle, or Goolwa pipi, for the region where it is most abundant, or by its Ngarrindjeri name, kuti. In south-eastern Queensland, it is often also known as eugarie or (y)ugari, a borrowing from the local Yugambeh and Ugarapul languages.

This species should not be confused with the bivalve Paphies australis (of the family Mesodesmatidae), endemic to New Zealand and also called "pipi".

Reproduction

P. deltoides is an edible bivalve mollusc primarily found from the Eyre Peninsula to Kingston SE in South Australia and from Tasmania to Fraser Island in Queensland, with Younghusband Peninsula (Coorong Beach) in South Australia the site of the largest stock abundance in Australia, where they make up 85% of the total biomass. The Sir Richard Peninsula (Goolwa Beach) and Younghusband Peninsula sand dunes are composed mainly of P. deltoides shell sediments that have formed over the last 6,600 years.

Where to see it

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