Laternula elliptica is a species of saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Laternulidae, the lantern shells.

[3] The title of the paper they published read "Description of Cirrhipedia, Conchifera and Mollusca, in a collection formed by the officers of H.M.S.

"[3] The shell of Laternula elliptica is thin, brittle, and slightly inflated and grows to a length of 10 centimetres (3.9 in).

As it passes over the gill flaps, gaseous exchange takes place and phytoplankton and detritus are captured by cilia and moved in a flow of mucus to the mouth.

[9] The concentric sculptured lines on the shell have been shown by radioactive carbon and oxygen dating to occur annually and have been used to tell the age of the animal.

Some of these fossils are still in the positions the molluscs occupied when alive and it has been found that they are all orientated in roughly the same direction, many with a variance of only 10° and all within a 66° range.

This rheotaxis may help Laternula elliptica maximise energy gain in the summer in an environment where the food availability and consequent growth of organisms varies greatly at different times of the year.