Cyrtopleura costata

Last updated

Cyrtopleura costata
Cyrtopleura costata 13a.jpg
Cyrtopleura costata
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Bivalvia
Subclass: Heterodonta
Order: Myida
Superfamily: Pholadoidea
Family: Pholadidae
Genus: Cyrtopleura
Species:
C. costata
Binomial name
Cyrtopleura costata
Synonyms [1]
  • Capulus shreevei Conrad, 1869
  • Leuconyx tayleriana H. Adams & A. Adams, 1863
  • Pholas costata Linnaeus, 1758

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. [2]

Contents

Description

Cyrtopleura costata has a pair of brittle, asymmetric white valves and can grow to about 7 inches (180 mm) in length. The anterior end is elongated and has a rounded point which is used for digging through the substrate. The posterior end is truncated and rounded and near the beak has an apophysis, a wing-like flange, which helps provide an attachment for the foot muscles. On the anterior side of the beak, the margin is smooth and bent slightly upwards. The whole valve has finely sculptured radial ribs which intercept with a series of concentric growth rings parallel with the margin. In the living animal, the valves are covered by the periostracum, a thin grey protective layer of protein which is part of the shell. This layer has usually been stripped away by sand and surf by the time that the empty shells are washed up on the beach, and the valves are usually found singly, because the muscles that hold them together are weak. Internally, the live mollusc has a powerful muscular foot and a pair of long, fused siphons. These siphons are unable to retract back into the shell and as a result, the two valves permanently gape apart. [3]

Distribution

Cyrtopleura costata is found in shallow seas in the north east Atlantic Ocean between Cape Cod and the Gulf of Mexico. [1] It is also found in the West Indies, Central America and as far south as Brazil. It is commonest in the intertidal zone and just below low water mark. [2]

Biology

Cyrtopleura costata lives beneath the surface of the sea bed. It is able to bore through sand, mud, wood, clay and even soft rock using a twisting motion of its pointed, anterior end assisted by jets of water ejected from the mantle cavity. It is a filter feeder. The siphons extend to the surface of the substrate and water is drawn in through one and expelled through the other with microalgae and zooplankton being filtered out as the water passes through the gills. Respiration takes place at the same time. Cilia then waft the food particles to the mouth. [2] [3]

Spawning usually takes place in summer. Gametes are passed out of the exhalent siphon and fertilisation takes place externally. After hatching, eggs develop into veliger larvae which are planktonic. After 16 to 21 days these undergo metamorphosis into a pediveliger stage and settle out onto a soft substrate such as sand. There they become juveniles and start burrowing. [2]

Uses

Cyrtopleura costata is used as food in Cuba and Puerto Rico. It is a fast-growing species, and it has been investigated for possible use in commercial aquaculture. Under optimal conditions it was found that the larvae were ready to undergo metamorphosis after 12 days, and settlement could be triggered by use of a dilute solution of epinephrine. The clams could reach a marketable size of 6 centimetres (2.4 in) within 6 months. [4]

Related Research Articles

Clam

Clam is a common name for several kinds of bivalve molluscs. The word is often applied only to those that are edible and live as infauna, spending most of their lives halfway buried in the sand of the seafloor or riverbeds. Clams have two shells of equal size connected by two adductor muscles and have a powerful burrowing foot. They live in both freshwater and marine environments; in salt water they prefer to burrow down into the mud and the turbidity of the water required varies with species and location; the greatest diversity of these is in North America.

Bivalvia Class of molluscs

Bivalvia, in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of marine and freshwater molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hinged parts. Bivalves as a group have no head and they lack some usual molluscan organs like the radula and the odontophore. They include the clams, oysters, cockles, mussels, scallops, and numerous other families that live in saltwater, as well as a number of families that live in freshwater. The majority are filter feeders. The gills have evolved into ctenidia, specialised organs for feeding and breathing. Most bivalves bury themselves in sediment where they are relatively safe from predation. Others lie on the sea floor or attach themselves to rocks or other hard surfaces. Some bivalves, such as the scallops and file shells, can swim. The shipworms bore into wood, clay, or stone and live inside these substances.

Siphon (mollusc) Anatomical structure which is part of the body of some aquatic molluscs

A siphon is an anatomical structure which is part of the body of aquatic molluscs in three classes: Gastropoda, Bivalvia and Cephalopoda.

Pholadidae

Pholadidae, known as piddocks or angelwings, are a family of bivalve molluscs similar to a clam.

<i>Teredo navalis</i>

Teredo navalis, the naval shipworm, is a species of saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Teredinidae, the shipworms. This species is the type species of the genus Teredo. Like other species in this family, this bivalve is called a shipworm, because it resembles a worm in general appearance, while at the anterior end it has a small shell with two valves which is adept at boring through wood.

Bivalve shell

A bivalve shell is part of the body, the exoskeleton or shell, of a bivalve mollusk. In life, the shell of this class of mollusks is composed of two hinged parts or valves. Bivalves are very common in essentially all aquatic locales, including saltwater, brackish water, and freshwater. The shells of bivalves commonly wash up on beaches and along the edges of lakes, rivers, and streams. Bivalves by definition possess two shells or valves, a "right valve" and a "left valve", that are joined by a ligament. The two valves usually articulate with one another using structures known as "teeth" which are situated along the hinge line. In many bivalve shells, the two valves are symmetrical along the hinge line—when truly symmetrical, such an animal is said to be equivalved; if the valves vary from each other in size or shape, inequivalved. If symmetrical front-to-back, the valves are said to be equilateral, and are otherwise considered inequilateral.

<i>Venerupis philippinarum</i>

Venerupis philippinarum is an edible species of saltwater clam in the family Veneridae, the Venus clams.

<i>Mya truncata</i>

Mya truncata, common name the blunt gaper or truncate softshell, is a species of edible saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Myidae.

<i>Pecten maximus</i> Species of mollusc, also called St James shell

Pecten maximus, common names the great scallop, king scallop, St James shell or escallop, is a northeast Atlantic species of scallop, an edible saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Pectinidae. This is the type species of the genus. This species may be conspecific with Pecten jacobaeus, the pilgrim's scallop, which has a much more restricted distribution.

<i>Anodontia alba</i>

Anodontia alba, or the buttercup lucine, is a species of bivalve mollusc in the family Lucinidae. It can be found along the Atlantic coast of North America, its range extending from North Carolina in the United States to the West Indies.

<i>Ensis ensis</i>

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>Fabulina fabula</i>

Fabulina fabula, the bean-like tellin, is a species of marine bivalve mollusc in the family Tellinidae. It is found off the coasts of northwest Europe, where it lives buried in sandy sediments.

<i>Tellina tenuis</i>

Tellina tenuis, the thin tellin, is a species of marine bivalve mollusc in the family Tellinidae. It is found off the coasts of northwest Europe and in the Mediterranean Sea, where it lives buried in sandy sediments.

<i>Abra alba</i>

Abra alba, or the white furrow shell, is a species of bivalve mollusc in the family Semelidae. It occurs in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, where it lives on the floor in shallow areas buried in soft sediments.

<i>Donax vittatus</i>

Donax vittatus, or the banded wedge shell, is a species of bivalve mollusc in the order Cardiida. It is found on beaches in northwest Europe buried in the sand on the lower shore.

<i>Mulinia lateralis</i>

Mulinia lateralis, the dwarf surf clam or coot clam, is a species of small saltwater clam, a bivalve mollusc in the family Mactridae. It occurs in the western Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.

Laternula elliptica is a species of saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Laternulidae, the lantern shells. It is the largest bivalve found under the surface of the seabed in the Southern Ocean.

<i>Venerupis corrugata</i>

Venerupis corrugata, the pullet carpet shell, is a species of bivalve mollusc in the family Veneridae. It is found buried in the sediment on the sea bed in shallow parts of the eastern Atlantic Ocean. It is harvested for human consumption in Spain and other parts of Western Europe.

<i>Macoma tenta</i>

Macoma tenta, the narrowed macoma clam or elongate macoma is a species of clam, a marine bivalve mollusk (bivalvia) in the family Tellinidae and genus Macoma. Macoma tenta are one of two species of macoma clams that can be found in the Chesapeake Bay on the eastern shore of the United States in Maryland and Virginia. The macoma tenta like their cousin in the Chesapeake, the Macoma balthica or Baltic macoma clam, are small marine bivalves with thin, chalky white shells. They tend to live buried in the sandy or muddy areas of shallow water in the middle and lower Chesapeake Bay. Macoma clams are among the most abundant clams in the Chesapeake Bay. Macomas first appeared about 750,000 years ago.

<i>Solecurtus strigilatus</i>

Solecurtus strigilatus, also known as the rosy razor clam, is a species of saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Solecurtidae. This mollusc is a suspension feeder and can burrow with great rapidity to escape predators. It is an unusual bivalve in that its shell valves are too small to contain all the soft tissue, and the animal is unable to retreat into its shell.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Cyrtopleura costata (Linnaeus, 1758) World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2011-11-30.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Cyrtopleura costata Smithsonian Marine Station. Retrieved 2011-11-30.
  3. 1 2 Angel Wings: Look for the “Spoon” Retrieved 2011-11-30.
  4. Gustafson, R G; R L Creswell; T R Jacobsen; D E Vaughan (1991). "Larval Biology and Mariculture of the Angelwing Clam Cyrtopleura-Costata". Aquaculture. 95 (3–4): 257–279. doi:10.1016/0044-8486(91)90092-l.