| Mactra stultorum | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Right valve of Mactra stultorum | |
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| Left valve of Mactra stultorum | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Bivalvia |
| Subclass: | Heterodonta |
| Order: | Venerida |
| Superfamily: | Mactroidea |
| Family: | Mactridae |
| Genus: | Mactra |
| Species: | M. stultorum |
| Binomial name | |
| Mactra stultorum | |
| Synonyms | |
Mactra stultorum, previously sometimes known as Mactra corallina, is a species of edible saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Mactridae, the trough shells.
This species lives in the Black Sea, the Mediterranean coasts, and the west coast of Europe, from Norway to the Iberian Peninsula, and south to Senegal.
This bivalve lives on sandy (rarely soft) bottoms at depths of between 5 and 30 m, although the shell is very often found on beaches, where it has been cast up by wave action.
This species has a very thin and delicate shell, which has concentric growth lines and sometimes also has colored radiating bands, hence its common name, the rayed trough shell. The shell interior is white.
This species is sometimes sold in markets as a food item.
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.
A seashell or sea shell, also known simply as a shell, is a hard, protective outer layer usually created by an animal that lives in the sea. The shell is part of the body of the animal. Empty seashells are often found washed up on beaches by beachcombers. The shells are empty because the animal has died and the soft parts have decomposed or been eaten by another animal.
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.
The knobbed whelk is a species of very large predatory sea snail, or in the US, a whelk, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Busyconidae, the busycon whelks.
Sea snail is a common name for slow-moving marine gastropod molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguished from snails primarily by the absence of a visible shell.
Mactridae, common name the trough shells or duck clams, is a family of saltwater clams, marine bivalve mollusks in the order Venerida.
Mactra is a large genus of medium-sized marine bivalve mollusks or clams, commonly known as trough shells or duck clams. Mactra is the type genus within the family Mactridae.
Monetaria moneta, common name the money cowry, is a species of small sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.
Buccinum undatum, the common whelk or the waved buccinum, is a large, edible marine gastropod in the family Buccinidae, the "true whelks".
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.
A micromollusk is a shelled mollusk which is extremely small, even at full adult size. The word is usually, but not exclusively, applied to marine mollusks, although in addition, numerous species of land snails and freshwater mollusks also reach adult size at very small dimensions.
A mollusc valve is each articulating part of the shell of a mollusc. Each part is known as a valve or in the case of chitons, a "plate". Members of two classes of molluscs, the Bivalvia (clams) and the Polyplacophora (chitons), have valves.
Venerupis philippinarum is an edible species of saltwater clam in the family Veneridae, the Venus clams.
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.
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.
Mactra glauca is a species of saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Mactridae, the trough shells.
Ostrea equestris, commonly known as the crested oyster or horse oyster, is a species of bivalve mollusc in the family Ostreidae. It can be found along the Atlantic coast of North and South America, ranging from Virginia to Patagonia.
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.
Mactra chinensis is a species of saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Mactridae, the trough shells.
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