Chamelea gallina

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Chamelea gallina
Chamelea gallina MHNT.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Bivalvia
Order: Venerida
Superfamily: Veneroidea
Family: Veneridae
Genus: Chamelea
Species:
C. gallina
Binomial name
Chamelea gallina
Synonyms [1]
  • Venus gallinaLinnaeus, 1758
  • Venus striatula E. M. da Costa, 1778
  • Venus sinuataBorn, 1778
  • Venus corrugatulaKrynicki, 1837
  • Venus nucleusStatuti, 1880
  • Venus nuculataLocard, 1892
  • Chione schottiiDall, 1902

Chamelea gallina is a species of small saltwater clam, a marine bivalve in the family Veneridae, the venus clams. [2]

Contents

Taxonomy

Carl Linnaeus originally described Venus gallina from the Mediterranean Sea in 1758. It was not clear whether da Costa's 1778 Pectunculus striatulus was a different northern species or not.

Linnaeus afterwards mentioned that his V. gallina also occurs in Oceano Norvegico. In 1952, following Dodge, the name Chamelea gallina was considered to be valid. There were for a while two recognised subspecies: the Mediterranean C. g. gallina, and the Atlantic C. g. striatula. [1] However by 2016, the two subspecies were elevated to the species level, and listed separately on the database WoRMS.

Characteristics

The shell is solid and thick, with two equal sized valves and up to five centimetres long. It is broadly triangular but asymmetrical, having a round anterior margin but a somewhat elongated posterior. The periostracum is thin and the ligament connecting the two valves is narrow. The lunule is short and heart-shaped, light brown with fine radiating ridges. The shell is sculptured with about fifteen concentric ridges. The colour is whitish, cream or pale yellow, sometimes shiny, and usually with three red-brown radiating rays. [3]

Distribution

Chamelea gallina occurs on Eastern Atlantic coasts, from Norway and the British Isles, Portugal, Morocco, Madeira and the Canary Islands. It is also found in the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea and is abundant in the Adriatic Sea. [3]

Biology

Chamelea gallina lives under the surface of clean and muddy sand at a depth of between five and twenty metres. It is a filter feeder, taking in a variety of microalgae, bacteria and small particles of detritus. [3]

Uses

This species is used for food. In 1995 the total recorded catch was 42,000 tons with the largest catches being taken by Italy and Turkey. The shells are mostly caught with dredges but some bottom trawling is done and some aquaculture takes place in Italy. [3]

European law

The European Union regulament n° 1667/2006 [4] has forbidden the commerce of clams having a length less than 25 millimeters. The full list of the forbidden marine species is available as an annex of the Habitats Directive.

The new EU limit to the length of clams came into force in 2010. Two years later, the sanctions started to include a fine up to a maximum of 4,000 euros, [5] besides to the seizure of the catch and the closure of the activity. [6]

The norm recalled a decree adopted by the Italian President Saragat in 1968 [7] [8] and created a severe economic damage for the Italian enterprises belonging to the ittic sector, characterized by a production of clams 22 millimeters long. That type of clam is an historic production of the Adriatic Sea mainly in Venice and Chioggia, [9] but also in Rimini and the Romagnole Coast [10] ), and even in Campania due to the climate change and a new different mean saltiness of the Italian seas. which blocks the adult claim's growth at a diameter of around 22 mm. [5]

Against an intensive lobbying activity of the Spanish deputies at the European Parliament, in June 2016 the Italian parties reached a temporary triennal exception to the limit, in order to avoid the crisis of the ittic sector and to protect an Italian typical production. [11] On 9 October 2019, the exception was firstly delayed for another year [12] until 31 December 2020. [13] Italian organizations are pressing to the EU Parliament to concede a new dispensation form the limit of 25 millimeters.

Related Research Articles

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<i>Venus</i> (bivalve) Genus of bivalves

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<i>Limecola balthica</i> Species of bivalve

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<i>Pecten jacobaeus</i> Species of mollusc

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<i>Lithophaga lithophaga</i> Species of bivalve

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grooved carpet shell</span> Species of bivalve

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mediterranean mussel</span> Species of bivalve

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<i>Hysteroconcha dione</i> Species of bivalve

Hysteroconcha dione or the elegant Venus clam, formerly known as Venus dione, is a species of bivalve mollusc in the family Veneridae, the Venus clams.

<i>Ensis ensis</i> Species of bivalve

Ensis ensis, or the sword razor, is a razor clam, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Pharidae. It lives buried in the sand and is found off the coasts of northwest Europe.

<i>Cyrtopleura costata</i> Species of bivalve

Cyrtopleura costata, or the angel wing clam, is a bivalve mollusc in the family Pholadidae. It is found in shallow parts of the northwest Atlantic and also in the North Sea of Scotland coastline and west coast of the Adriatic Sea by a remote area in the Marche region in central Italy, living in the seabed, where it digs its burrows on a very slow revolving movement for years through soft sand and mud always to a max depth of 8ft but always below 3 feet (0.91 m) at the lowest tide.

<i>Dyspanopeus sayi</i> Species of crab

Dyspanopeus sayi is a species of mud crab that is native to the Atlantic coast of North America. It has also become established outside its native range, living in Swansea Docks since 1960, the Mediterranean Sea since the 1970s, the North Sea since 2007 and the Black Sea since 2010. It can reach a carapace width of 20 mm (0.8 in), and has black tips to its unequal claws. It feeds on bivalves and barnacles, and is in turn eaten by predators including the Atlantic blue crab, Callinectes sapidus. Eggs are produced from spring to autumn, the offspring reach sexual maturity the following summer, and individuals can live for up to two years. The closest relative of D. sayi is D. texanus, which lives in the Gulf of Mexico; the two species differ in subtle features of the genitalia and the last pair of walking legs.

<i>Venus casina</i> Species of bivalve

Venus casina is a species of saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Veneridae, the venus clams. While the species is classified by World Register of Marine Species as Venus casina, the Catalogue of Life uses Circomphalus casina.

<i>Acanthocardia tuberculata</i> Species of bivalve

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.

<i>Venus nux</i> Species of bivalve

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<i>Solecurtus strigilatus</i> Species of bivalve

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<i>Acanthocardia echinata</i> Species of bivalve

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<i>Pharus legumen</i> Species of bivalve

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<i>Chamelea striatula</i> Species of mollusc

Chamelea striatula, the striped venus clam, is a marine bivalve mollusc of the family Veneridae which inhabits the northern shores of Europe.

References

  1. 1 2 Serge Gofas (2012). "Chamelea gallina (Linnaeus, 1758)". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved February 14, 2012.
  2. Michelle Carter (2008). "Chamelea gallina. Striped venus clam". Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom . Retrieved February 14, 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Chamelea gallina (Linnaeus, 1758)". Species Fact Sheets. Fisheries and Aquaculture Department, Food and Agriculture Organization . Retrieved February 14, 2012.
  4. "Council Regulation n°1967/2006, concerning management measures for the sustainable exploitation of fishery resources in the Mediterranean Sea, amending Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93 and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1626/94". EUR-Lex . at article 3.
  5. 1 2 "Vongole italiane sotto misura secondo l'Ue. Poche raggiungono i 25 mm richiesti" (in Italian). July 17, 2015.
  6. "Ok Ue alla taglia minima per le vongole, salva la flotta" (in Italian). December 3, 2013.
  7. Zatterin, Marco (June 17, 2016). "L'Italia vince la battaglia delle vongole". La Stampa (in Italian).
  8. "Tesoro, mi si sono ristrette le vongole" (in Italian). February 6, 2016.
  9. Rosanna Conte (August 26, 2020). "Pesca delle vongole al di sotto dei limiti Ue, Bruxelles dà l'ok all'Italia" (in Italian).
  10. Alessandro Mazza (December 4, 2019). "Vongole, le misure contano. Via libera ai 25 mm, ma…".
  11. "L'Italia vince la battaglia delle vongole. Dal 2017 e per 3 anni si potranno pescare i molluschi bivalvi a partire da 22 mm" (in Italian). June 19, 2016. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  12. "Vongole: Spagna contro Italia per la pesca di vongole inferiori ai 25 millimetri" (in Italian). October 10, 2019.
  13. "Vongole: Spagna contro Italia per la pesca di vongole inferiori ai 25 millimetri" (in Italian). October 9, 2019.