Donax trunculus

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Donax trunculus
Donax trunculus MHNT.jpg
Donax trunculus, left valve
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Bivalvia
Order: Cardiida
Family: Donacidae
Genus: Donax
Species:
D. trunculus
Binomial name
Donax trunculus

The truncate donax, [1] abrupt wedge shell, wedge clam or coquina clam [2] (Donax trunculus), is a bivalve species in the family Donacidae.

Wedge clam on the beach Amarilladesma mactroides (Reeve, 1854) - iNaturalist.org (4).jpg
Wedge clam on the beach

It is native to the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts of western Europe, [1] as well as the Red sea, [3] where it is consumed as a food. The wedge clam prefers to live at depths of 0-2m and in clean, fine, and well sorted sand. [3] These clams are efficient and rapid burrowers, and their survival relies heavily on the composition of the sand they burrow in. [3] Their burrowing times vary based on the coarseness of the sand, which reflects their prevalence in these fine-sanded environments. [4] The wedge clam is a popular food item for human consumption, but can carry heavy metals and hydrocarbon contaminations. [5] As they are commonly consumed raw or lightly cooked, these contaminants are commonly present at the time of consumption. [5] Despite this, the wedge clam is an efficient bioindicator of heavy metals and hydrocarbon contaminants in their environment. [5]

With this species, as with many in its family Donacidae, it's easy to mistake the orientation of the valves, that is, to locate wrong the anterior and posterior ends of the animal and thus to mistake the right valve for the left one and vice versa (if there's no soft body left to give a reference), because the wedge clam's valves have some distinct features which are the opposite to what we see in the majority of the bivalves and can lead to confusion if we try to orientate the valves using these: first, Donax's umbo points backwards, towards the posterior end (instead of pointing forward, which is the common thing to happen in other bivalve families such as Veneridae); second, the anterior half of the valve (if you divide the valve in two by tracing a transverse axis from the umbo's point) is bigger, broader, more elongate, extends further away, while the posterior half is much shorter and reduced, which is exactly the opposite to the norm. However, if we ignore these unusual features, the valve can be readily oriented if we are able to make out the impression of the pallial sinus on the internal face of the valve: the pallial sinus, which is quite deep and prominent in this species, always opens towards the posterior end of the animal, with no exception.

Names in other languages

It is locally known as flion, flion tronqué, olive de mer, haricot de mer or telline (among other names) in French, [6] [2] [7] lagagnon in the area of Arcaishon and Les Landes, [7] cadelucha in the Bayonne region, [8] which coincides with the Basque name of kadeluxa; tellin, tellina , telline, tenille or truille [8] in the Occitan-speaking area of the Mediterranean, tellina or arsella in Italian, tellerina, tellina or escopinya francesa in Catalan (the latter variant used on Menorca), [9] [2] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] jòcula cautxa in Catalan of the Alguerès variant, [15] coquina truncada or coquina in Spanish, [6] [16] [17] [13] cadelucha, coquina or navalliña in Galician, conquilha or cadelinha in Portuguese and Um El-Kholol in Egyptian Arabic, etc. In Australia, a very similar shellfish is locally known as "Pippies".

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clam</span> Common name for several kinds of bivalve mollusc

Clam is a common name for several kinds of bivalve mollusc. 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 sea floor 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soft-shell clam</span> Species of mollusc

Soft-shell clams or Sand gaper, scientific name Mya arenaria, popularly called "steamers", "softshells", "piss clams", "Ipswich clams", or "Essex clams", are a species of edible saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Myidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Veneridae</span> Family of bivalves

The Veneridae or venerids, common name: Venus clams, are a very large family of minute to large, saltwater clams, marine bivalve molluscs. Over 500 living species of venerid bivalves are known, most of which are edible, and many of which are exploited as food sources.

<i>Donax</i> (bivalve) Genus of molluscs

Donax is a genus of small, edible saltwater clams, marine bivalve molluscs with highly variable color patterns. The genus is sometimes known as bean clams or wedge shells; however, Donax species have different common names in different parts of the world. In the southeastern U.S. they are known as "coquina", a word that is also used for the hard limestone concretions of their shells and those of other marine organisms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mactridae</span> Family of bivalves

Mactridae, common name the trough shells or duck clams, is a family of saltwater clams, marine bivalve mollusks in the order Venerida.

Freshwater bivalves are molluscs of the order Bivalvia that inhabit freshwater ecosystems. They are one of the two main groups of freshwater molluscs, along with freshwater snails.

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

The grooved carpet shell, or Palourde clam, Ruditapes decussatus, or Venerupis decussatus, is a clam in the family Veneridae. It is distributed worldwide and is highly prized due to its ecological and economic interest. It has been proposed as a bioindicator.

<i>Donax gouldii</i> Species of bivalve

Donax gouldii, common name the Gould beanclam, is a species of small saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Donacidae.

In 1758, in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, the Swedish scientist and taxonomist Carl Linnaeus described the class "Vermes" as:

Animals of slow motion, soft substance, able to increase their bulk and restore parts which have been destroyed, extremely tenacious of life, and the inhabitants of moist places. Many of them are without a distinct head, and most of them without feet. They are principally distinguished by their tentacles. By the Ancients they were not improperly called imperfect animals, as being destitute of ears, nose, head, eyes and legs; and are therefore totally distinct from Insects.

<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>Tellina tenuis</i> Species of bivalve

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>Donax vittatus</i> Species of bivalve

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hinge teeth</span>

Hinge teeth are part of the anatomical structure of the inner surface of a bivalve shell, i.e. the shell of a bivalve mollusk. Bivalves by definition have two valves, which are joined together by a strong and flexible ligament situated on the hinge line at the dorsal edge of the shell. In life, the shell needs to be able to open slightly to allow the foot and siphons to protrude, and then close again, without the valves moving out of alignment with one another. To make this possible, in most cases the two valves are articulated using an arrangement of structures known as hinge teeth. Like the ligament, the hinge teeth are also situated along the hinge line of the shell, in most cases.

<i>Dosinia exoleta</i> Species of bivalve

Dosinia exoleta, common name the rayed artemis, is a saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Veneridae, the venus clams.

<i>Nuttallia obscurata</i> Species of bivalve

Nuttallia obscurata, the purple mahogany clam, dark mahogany clam, varnish clam or savory clam, is a species of saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Psammobiidae. It was first described to science by Lovell Augustus Reeve, a British conchologist, in 1857.

<i>Theora mesopotamica</i> Species of bivalve

Theora mesopotamica is a species of saltwater and brackish water clam, a bivalve mollusk in the family Semelidae. This species is known from the northwestern end of the Persian Gulf, and from subfossil remains in brackish deposits in the lower Tigris–Euphrates basin of Iraq.

<i>Donax fossor</i> Species of mollusc

Donax fossor is a species of small saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusc species in the family Donacidae. This species is native to the eastern coast of the US, as far north as New York State; in the past it was sometimes incorrectly considered to be a northern, less colorful form of Donax variabilis.

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

Pharus legumen, is a species of bivalve mollusc commonly found burrowed in the sand on lower shores and in the shallow sublittoral.

<i>Donax cuneatus</i> Species of bivalve

Donax cuneatus, the cradle donax or cuneate wedge shell, is a species of small saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusc species in the family Donacidae.

References

  1. 1 2 "Donax trunculus". The Encyclopedia of Life ., National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian, USA. [Consulted 27-09-2021].
  2. 1 2 3 "Donax trunculus", TermCat. [Consulted 27-09-2021].
  3. 1 2 3 "Donax trunculus, Truncate Donax". www.sealifebase.ca. Retrieved 2021-10-26.
  4. ↑ Gosling, EM (2015). Marine bivalve molluscs. John Wiley and Sons.
  5. 1 2 3 Heiba, Fadia; Nassef, Mohamed; Mona, Mahy; El−Rasheedy, Israa. "The Depuration Effect on Heavy Metals and Total Hydrocarbons Contamination Levels in Donax trunculus and Its Influence on The Expression of Oxidative Stress-Related Genes: تأثيره على (Donax trunculus) تأثير التنقية على التلوث بالمعادن الثقيلة والهيدروكربونات الكلية في أم الخلول تعبيرات الجينات المرتبطة بالإجهاد التأكسدي". Egyptian Academic Journal of Biological Sciences. B, Zoology. 13: Winter/Spring 2021 (1): 77–89. doi: 10.21608/EAJBSZ.2021.153758 . S2CID   233293667.
  6. 1 2 "Donax trunculus", SeaLifeBase. [Consulted 27-09-2021].
  7. 1 2 "Donax trunculus - Flion tronqué" (in French), DORIS (Données d'Observations pour la Reconnaissance et l'Identification de la faune et la flore Subaquatiques). [Consulted 27-09-2021].
  8. 1 2 "Animals sedentaris, noms viatgers", Llengua ligur i altres llengües del nord d'Itàlia, 13 June 2012, with an excerpt from Trésor de la Langue Française, which in turn cites Les algues et invertébrés marins despêches françaises (1992).
  9. ↑ Lloris, Domènec and Messeguer, Sergi: Recursos Marins del Mediterrani. Fauna i Flora del Mar Català (in Catalan), Generalitat de Catalunya, Departament d'Agricultura, Ramaderia i Pesca, 2000, 2a edició 2002, p. 180.
  10. ↑ "Tellerina" in Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana. [Consulted 27-09-2021].
  11. ↑ "Tellerina" in Diccionari normatiu valencià. [Consulted 27-09-2021].
  12. ↑ "Donax trunculus" (in Catalan), Museu de la Pesca, Palamós. [Consulted 27-09-2021].
  13. 1 2 "Els noms dels peixos i mariscs" (in Catalan), Universitat de les Illes Balears. [Consulted 27-09-2021].
  14. ↑ "Productes marins rars de la Costa Brava" (in Catalan), Jaume Fàbrega, Revista de Girona, No. 183, July–August 1997, p. 31.
  15. ↑ Corbera Pou, Jaume: "Jòcula cauxta (plana, llisa i petita)" in Caracterització del lèxic alguerès. Contribució al coneixement del lèxic alguerès modern, Universitat de les Illes Balears, 2000, 325 pages, p. 92.
  16. ↑ "Donax trunculus" (in Spanish), ICTIOTERM database Andalucía. [Consulted 27-09-2021].
  17. ↑ "Donax trunculus" (in Spanish), Asturnatura. [Consulted 27-09-2021].

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