This shell is the victim of a taxonomic nightmare.  As many before him, Abbotts (1974) treated this shell under the name Barbatia cancellaria (Lamarck, 1819).  However, Huber (2015, p. 367), based upon his examination of the type material for Arca domingensis and in consideration of the lack of a type locality and doubtful type material for Barbatia cancellaria, concluded that the name Barbatia cancellaria should be discarded and the shells previously illustrated to represent it should be labelled Arca domingensis (Lamarck, 1819), Red-brown Ark.  Arca domingensis has since been reclassified and, as of Oct 2026, accepted by WoRMS as Acar domingensis.  The shell illustrated in the adjacent slide and this presentation conforms to that illustrated by Abbott (1974, #966), Mikkelsen & Bieler (2007), and on Wikipedia (as of 10/25/26) as Barbatia cancellaria. 

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Not everyone agrees with the approach reflected above and many authors (including WoRMS) present an illustration(s) of  Acar domingensis labelled Barbatia domingensis and conform to Abbott’s (1974, #4967) description of Barbatia domingensis (Lamarck, 1819), White Miniature Ark.  It is not understandable that so many confuse two so different-looking shells.  All very confusing.  As the adjacent photos show,  

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However, the taxonomy is questioned in:  Simone, Luiz. Sep 2024. New species, misidentifications and problematic taxonomy of some Atlantic South American marine mollusks: a review.  Pap. Avulsos Zool. v.64: e202464031.  See page 66.  

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After reviewing this update Rüdiger Bieler, Curator Invertebrates at Field Museum of Natural History, commented:

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“Yes, the cancellaria/domingensis situation is a confusing mess created by Huber's (2015) approach (there would have been ways to solve this under the ICZN Code without upending the proverbial applecart). Unfortunately, Luiz Simone's (2024) proposed solution did not fix it, as we pointed out in our 2025 paper. Page 3."

 

Ref: ​Huber, M. 2015. Compendium of Bivalves 2. ConchBooks.