| Fragum unedo | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Bivalvia |
| Order: | Cardiida |
| Family: | Cardiidae |
| Genus: | Fragum |
| Species: | F. unedo |
| Binomial name | |
| Fragum unedo | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
| |
Fragum unedo is a species of cockle, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Cardiidae, commonly known as the Pacific strawberry cockle. It is found in tropical seas in the Indo-Pacific region and the empty shells are prized for use in decorative crafts. [2]
Fragum unedo can grow to 6.5 cm (2.5 in) in length but 4 cm (1.5 in) is a more usual size. The two domed valves are equal in size and asymmetric, with the beaks in front of the mid line. The outline is sub-quadrate with steeply sloping dorsal margins. The posterior margin is long and almost straight while the anterior margin is evenly rounded. They meet at a distinct, nearly square angle. The strong radial ribs often have small red, thornlike sculpturing. The margin is deeply crenulated. The texture of the shell is robust, the colour being mainly white but sometimes mottled with reddish mosaic patches. [2] [3] [4]
Right and left valve of the same specimen:
Fragum unedo is found in the Indo-Pacific region. The range extends from Mauritius and Sri Lanka to southern Japan, Melanesia and northern Australia. It is a benthic species, living buried in sand or mud between low tide mark and a depth of 60 m (200 ft). [2]
Fragum unedo has a symbiotic relationship with certain micro-algae, zooxanthellae , which live in the mantle and other soft tissues. It is heliophilous, meaning that it needs to expose its mantle above the substrate in order to maximise the amount of sunlight available for photosynthesis. The closely related Fragum fragum is sciaphilous, its symbionts having a much lower light requirement for photosynthesis. It has a large posterior gape and can remain more completely buried in the sediment with less likelihood of predation. [5]
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.
Bivalvia or bivalves, in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of aquatic molluscs that have laterally compressed soft bodies enclosed by a calcified exoskeleton consisting of a hinged pair of half-shells known as valves. As a group, bivalves have no head and lack some typical molluscan organs such as the radula and the odontophore. Their gills have evolved into ctenidia, specialised organs for feeding and breathing.
Calappa hepatica, the reef box crab, is a common benthic species of box crab of tropical and subtropical parts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans and the Red Sea.
Limecola balthica, commonly called the Baltic macoma, Baltic clam or Baltic tellin, is a small saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Tellinidae.
Tegillarca granosa is a species of ark clam known as the blood cockle or blood clam due to the red haemoglobin liquid inside the soft tissues. It is found throughout the Indo-Pacific region from the eastern coast of South Africa northwards and eastwards to Southeast Asia, Australia, Polynesia, and up to northern Japan. It lives mainly in the intertidal zone at one to two metres water depth, burrowed down into sand or mud. Adult size is about 5 to 6 cm long and 4 to 5 cm wide.
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.
Cypraea tigris, commonly known as the tiger cowrie, is a species of cowry, a large sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.
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.
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.
Phaxas pellucidus, the transparent razor shell, is a species of marine bivalve mollusc in the family Pharidae. It is found buried in the seabed in coastal waters of northwest Europe, often in great numbers.
Venerupis decussata is a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Veneridae, commonly known as the cross-cut carpet shell.
Corculum cardissa, the heart cockle, is a species of marine bivalve mollusc in the family Cardiidae. It is found in the Indo-Pacific region. It has a symbiotic relationship with dinoflagellates (zooxanthellae), which live within its tissues.
Fragum is a genus of cockles, marine bivalve molluscs in the family Cardiidae. Members of the genus have characteristic thick, sculptured shells and live buried in sand, extending their siphons to the surface to feed and breathe. They are found in the Indo-Pacific region and the Red Sea.
Arca noae or the Noah's Ark shell is a species of bivalve mollusc in the family Arcidae. It is found in the Mediterranean Sea from low tide mark to a depth of 60 metres (200 ft).
Cucullaea labiata is a species of saltwater clam or ark shell, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Cucullaeidae.
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.
Fragum fragum is a species of cockle, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Cardiidae. It is commonly known as the white strawberry cockle and is found in the western Indo-Pacific Ocean. It is the type species of the genus Fragum.
Fragum erugatum is a small species of cockle, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Cardiidae. It is found in the shallow seas off the coast of Western Australia. It is commonly known as the Hamelin cockle, cardiid cockle or heart cockle.
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.
Acanthocardia echinata, the prickly cockle or European prickly cockle, is a species of saltwater clam, marine bivalve molluscs in the family Cardiidae.