Acanthocardia tuberculata

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Acanthocardia tuberculata
Cardiidae - Acanthocardia tuberculata.JPG
One valve of the shell of Acanthocardia tuberculata from Sicily at the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Bivalvia
Order: Cardiida
Family: Cardiidae
Genus: Acanthocardia
Species:
A. tuberculata
Binomial name
Acanthocardia tuberculata
Synonyms
  • Acanthocardia (Rudicardium) tuberculata(Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Cardium rusticumLinnaeus, 1767
  • Cardium tuberculatumLinnaeus, 1758
  • Cardium tuberculatum var. muticaBucquoy, Dautzenberg & Dollfus, 1892
  • Eucardium tuberculatum(Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Eucardium tuberculatum var. asperulaCoen, 1915
  • Eucardium tuberculatum var. dautzenbergiCoen, 1915
  • Eucardium tuberculatum var. palaeomuticaCoen, 1915
  • Eucardium tuberculatum var. pictaCoen, 1915
  • Eucardium tuberculatum var. potensCoen, 1915

Acanthocardia tuberculata, the rough cockle, is a species of saltwater clam, a cockle, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Cardiidae. The genus Acanthocardia is present from the Upper Oligocene to the Recent.

Contents

Description

The shell of Acanthocardia tuberculata can reach a size of about 95 mm. This shell is robust, equivalve, inflated and slightly inequilateral, with crenulated margins. The surface shows 18-20 strong radial ribs, with rows of spiny nodules. The basic coloration is usually pale brown with alternating darker concentric bands.

Right and left valve of the same specimen:

var. alba Acanthocardia tuberculata 03.jpg
var. alba

Distribution and habitat

Acanthocardia tuberculata can be found in the Mediterranean Sea and in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean. This species is present in the continental shelf from low tide to 200 m. Like most other bivalves, these mollusks are suspension feeders filtering phytoplankton.

Subspecies

References