| Limecola balthica | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Bivalvia |
| Order: | Cardiida |
| Family: | Tellinidae |
| Genus: | Limecola |
| Species: | L. balthica |
| Binomial name | |
| Limecola balthica | |
| Synonyms | |
Limecola balthica, commonly called the Baltic macoma, Baltic clam or Baltic tellin, [1] [2] is a small saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Tellinidae (the macomas and tellins).
The shells are smooth, relatively flat, oval or somewhat trigonal in shape, and less than 30 mm long. [3] The shell color is polymorphic, varying between individuals and between localities. Often most specimens are white, sometimes most are pink, and also yellow and orange shells may occur. Color is best visible in worn-out dead shells and inside the shell. Concentric growth rings indicating the age of the specimen are often clearly visible.[ citation needed ]
Macoma balthica var. nivea
Right and left valve of the same specimen:
Limecola balthica is an infaunal bivalve, living buried in the mud or silt, and extending its two narrow siphons to the bottom surface. Through the siphons, it feeds on organic matter on the sediment surface or in the water. [4]
Limecola balthica is a euryhaline species, capable of living in a wide range of water salinity, down to 3-4 permille, i.e. 10% of ocean salinity. It usually lives in the intertidal or shallow subtidal, and is common in estuaries and bays. [3] In the brackish Baltic Sea it lives submerged down to water depths over 100m.[ citation needed ]
Limecola balthica lives in the northern parts of both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and also extends to the Subarctic both in North America and in Europe. The European distribution ranges from southern France north to the White Sea and Pechora Sea, and also includes the inner brackish parts of the Baltic Sea. [5] In eastern North America, L. balthica is distributed from the Gulf of St. Lawrence Bay north to Hudson Bay, in the Pacific from Washington to the Beaufort Sea in Alaska, and also on the Russian coast. Along the U.S. Atlantic and Pacific coasts (Oregon to south), M. balthica is replaced by a similar species Limecola petalum . [2]
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. As a group, bivalves have no head and they lack some usual molluscan organs, like the radula and the odontophore. The class includes 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. Shipworms bore into wood, clay, or stone and live inside these substances.
Teredo navalis, commonly called the naval shipworm or turu, is a species of saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Teredinidae. 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, and it is adept at boring through wood.
The Tellinidae are a family of marine bivalve molluscs of the order Cardiida. Commonly known as tellins or tellens, they live fairly deep in soft sediments in shallow seas and respire using long siphons that reach up to the surface of the sediment.
The Pinnidae are a taxonomic family of large saltwater clams sometimes known as pen shells. They are marine bivalve molluscs in the order Pteriida.
The razor shell, Ensis magnus, also called razor clam, razor fish or spoot (colloquially), is a bivalve of the family Pharidae. It is found on sandy beaches in Canada and northern Europe.
Macoma nasuta, commonly known as the bent-nosed clam, is a species of bivalve found along the Pacific Ocean coast of North America. It is about 6 cm (2.4 in) long. It is often found buried in sands of 10–20 cm (3.9–7.9 in) in depth. This rounded clam has no radial ribs. Archaeological data supports the use of this species by Native Americans such as the Chumash peoples of central California.
Lajonkairia lajonkairii is an edible species of saltwater clam in the family Veneridae, the Venus clams. Common names include Manila clam, Japanese littleneck clam, Japanese cockle, and Japanese carpet shell. In Japan, it is known as asari. In Korea, it is known as bajirak.
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.
Mulinia modesta is a species of clam belonging to the family Mactridae.
Astarte borealis, or the northern astarte, is a species of bivalve mollusc in the family Astartidae. It can be found along the Atlantic coast of North America, ranging from Greenland to Massachusetts.
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.
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.
Glossus humanus, the oxheart clam, is a species of species of marine clam found in deepwater off the Atlantic coastline of Europe and Northern Africa. It is the only remaining extant species in the genus Glossus.
Saxidomus gigantea is a large, edible saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Veneridae, the venus clams. It can be found along the western coast of North America, ranging from the Aleutian Islands to San Francisco Bay. Common names for this clam include butter clam, Washington clam, smooth Washington clam and money shell.
Potamocorbula amurensis is a species of small saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusc in the order Myida. Common names include the overbite clam, the Asian clam, the Amur River clam and the brackish-water corbula. The species is native to marine and brackish waters in the northern Pacific Ocean, its range extending from Siberia to China, Korea and Japan. It has become naturalised in San Francisco Bay.
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.
Arcuatula senhousia(= Musculista senhousia), commonly known as the Asian date mussel, Asian mussel or bag mussel, is a small saltwater mussel, a marine bivalve mollusk species in the family Mytilidae, the mussels. Other common names for this species include: the Japanese mussel, Senhouse's mussel, the green mussel, and the green bagmussel. It is harvested for human consumption in China.
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.
Media related to Macoma balthica at Wikimedia Commons
