Chione cancellata, is a species of medium-sized saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Veneridae, the venus clams.
The species is now understood to be strictly Caribbean in distribution. The more northern species which resembles this, which is usually called the "cross-barred venus" and which was considered to be C. cancellata for many years, is now known to be Chione elevata.
This species grows to be 13⁄4 inches across, and has a rounded, triangular shell with both strong concentric ridges and strong radial ribbing, which together form a raised crisscross pattern of ridges, hence the specific name, cancellata or cancellate.
The interior of the shell possesses crenulations on its bottom edge, and like most Veneridae it has well-developed lateral and cardinal teeth on the hinge line.
The shell of C. cancellata sensu stricto is quite brightly colored and patterned. (This is in contrast to the species C. elevata which usually has a grayish yellow-white exterior, occasionally with a few lavender radial stripes. The shell interior of C. elevata is usually purple.)
The species commonly lives on sandy bottoms of sounds and shallow offshore waters, and the shells are commonly found washed ashore on sound and ocean beaches.
This species was, until recently, thought to range from New Jersey to Brazil. It is now known that the Caribbean Chione is in fact C. cancellata and the more northern clam is a different species, C. elevata.
