| Mulinia lateralis | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Bivalvia |
| Subclass: | Heterodonta |
| Order: | Venerida |
| Family: | Mactridae |
| Subfamily: | Mactrinae |
| Genus: | Mulinia |
| Species: | M. lateralis |
| Binomial name | |
| Mulinia lateralis | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
| |
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.
Mulinia lateralis has a somewhat inflated triangular shell, with valves that are thin but not brittle. The shell reaches 15 mm in adult size. The anterior end of the shell is rounded, but the posterior end has a distinctive radial ridge giving it an angular look. The outer surface is white or yellowish and somewhat glossy, covered with fine concentric sculpturing. The beaks are prominent and are slightly angled towards the anterior end. The hinge has a small chondrophore, and the ligament joining the valves is internal. The inner surface of the valves is glossy white. [2]
Mulinia lateralis is found on the eastern coasts of North America from the north-eastern United States (New Jersey) southwards to Mexico. It lives shallowly buried in sand or mud on the lower shore and in the sublittoral zone. It is tolerant of low salinities and is found in estuaries and lagoons. [3] It is sometimes abundant, and as many as 21,000 individuals have been found in a square metre. [4]
Mulinia lateralis is a filter feeder. The diet is mainly bacteria or other planktonic material. Like other bivalve molluscs, the animal raises its siphons to the surface of the sediment, draws water in though one and expels it through the other, having filtered out nutrient particles in the gills. [5]
The sexes are separate in Mulinia lateralis. The female produces up to 2 million eggs at a time, and fertilisation is external. The veliger larvae disperse as part of the zooplankton and take from 1 to 3 weeks to develop into the pediveliger stage, whereupon they settle and undergo metamorphosis. The juveniles grow fast and are sexually mature within 2 months. [3]
A number of different animals prey on Mulinia lateralis. These include birds such as the sanderling and laughing gull and crabs. [3] The gray sea star (Luidia clathrata) selectively feeds on it [6] and the knobbed whelk (Busycon carica) is also a major predator. [7]
In addition to a variety of salinities, Mulinia lateralis is able to tolerate other ecologically stressful conditions like temperature extremes and anoxia. Mulinia lateralis has been found in the European wadden sea, and has the potential to become an invasive alien species due to its high fecundity, short generation cycle of just 60 days, and broad ecological amplitudes. [8]
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.
Rapana venosa, common name the veined rapa whelk or Asian rapa whelk, is a species of large predatory sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc or whelk, in the family Muricidae, the rock shells.
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.
Atrina rigida, commonly called the rigid pen shell, is a species of bivalve mollusc in the family Pinnidae.
The grooved carpet shell, or Palourde clam, Ruditapes decussatus, or Venerupis decussatus, is a clam or bivalve mollusc in the family Veneridae. It is distributed worldwide and due to its ecological and economic interest has been proposed as a bioindicator.
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 coloradoensis is the junior synonym of Mulinia modesta, a species of clam endemic to the northern and central Gulf of California. The clam is known to live in both brackish and fully marine habitats. It is a shallow-water filter feeder that prefers mud-sand bottoms.
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.
Tellimya ferruginosa is a species of small marine bivalve mollusc in the family Lasaeidae. It is found on the eastern side of the Atlantic Ocean.
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.
Lutraria lutraria is a species of large marine bivalve mollusc in the family Mactridae. Its common names include the otter shell and the common otter shell. It occurs in coastal regions of the north east Atlantic Ocean where it lives buried in the sand.
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.
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.
Luidia clathrata is a tropical species of starfish in the family Luidiidae. It is variously known as the slender-armed starfish, the gray sea star, or the lined sea star. It is found in the western Atlantic Ocean.
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.
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.
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.