De Tere hartschelp Acanthocardia paucicostata op het wad bij Goeree (Zuid-Holland)

In March 2022 several people found fresh pairs of Acanthocardia paucicostata near Ouddorp (Goeree, province of Zuid-Holland, the Netherlands). During a field trip the author noted that most of these shells were found in the broad tidal flat area between the beach and the first coastal barrier. The species was mostly known from southern Brittany (France) and further south, and likely reached the Netherlands via ballast water. Since 1999 it has been recorded from sea arms and lagoons in the southwest of the Netherlands. Here it is recorded from a tidal flat area along the North Sea coast. The animals likely died due to frost. It is not clear whether the species will further expand its presence along the Dutch coast or whether the population near Ouddorp has already disappeared.