Gaping file clam

Gaping file clam
Gaping file clam ( Limaria hians )
Systematics
Order : Limida Superfamily : Limoidea Family : File clams (Limidae) Subfamily : Limatulinae Genre : Limaria Type : Gaping file clam
Scientific name
Limaria hians
( Gmelin , 1791)

Limaria hians (Gmelin, 1791)

The Gaping files mussel ( Limaria hians , syn .: Lima hians , Mantellum hians ) is a shell - type from the family of limidae (Limidae).

features

The same-hinged, but unequal-sided housing is oblique-egg-shaped in outline. It is elongated obliquely downwards at the front. The posterior surface slopes down almost vertically and straight from the dorsal margin. The rear end is well rounded. The front is almost straight to very slightly curved. The housing is up to 30 mm long. It is severely flattened. Fritz Nordsieck gives the dimensions: 25 mm long, 16 mm wide and 8 mm thick or in cross-section. The "ears" (appendages) on both sides of the vertebra are very small and roughly the same size. The back “ear” sticks out and forms an acute angle. The front "ear", on the other hand, forms an obtuse angle to the front edge. It has a small byssus slot at the base. The dorsal margin is straight to slightly concave; it is comparatively wide. In the juvenile stage (less than 10 mm in length) the housing can still be tightly closed. In the adult stage, the closed housing gapes at the front and rear. The ligament lies in a large triangular pit below the vertebra. The lock plate on both sides of the ligament pit is smooth. The muscle attachments cannot be seen on the inside of the valves.

The peel is thin, but still firm. The ornamentation consists of up to 50 radial ribs and stripes. Of these, the central 30 ribs are more strongly developed and cause serration on the edge of the housing. The ornamentation is less pronounced in juvenile specimens, in very small cases (<5 mm) there are only a few raised stripes on the front edge. The periostracum is thin and indistinct. The color varies from off-white to off-white. The inside of the shell is shiny.

When the mussels open the flap, orange or red tentacles emerge in clusters at the edge. The tentacles have an adhesive effect.

Similar species

It is significantly slimmer or flatter than, for example, the bulbous file clam ( Limaria turberculata ( Olivi , 1792)).

Geographical distribution, habitat and way of life

The range of the species is the central Atlantic. In the East Atlantic it occurs from the Lofoten to North Africa and the Mediterranean Sea , as well as on the Canary Islands and the Azores . In the western Atlantic it occurs in the Caribbean .

The depth distribution ranges from below the tidal range to the middle shelf (up to about 100 meters water depth). The animals build nests out of byssus threads and small debris, which they attach to stones or parts of Laminaria plants in places with strong currents. The nests reach a diameter of about 25 cm. Several young animals often lived in one nest. Adults are usually alone in a nest. The animals can swim by opening and closing the flaps quickly.

Taxonomy

The taxon was set up in 1791 by Johann Friedrich Gmelin as Ostrea hians . In his first description he again refers to the description and illustration (vol. 3, p. 322, plate 9, fig. 4) in the introduction to the knowledge of conchylia according to Linnaeus by Johann Samuel Schröter . The taxon is now added to the genus Limaria Link , 1807.

supporting documents

literature

• Fritz Nordsieck : The European sea shells (Bivalvia). From the Arctic Ocean to Cape Verde, the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea. 256 p., Gustav Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart 1969, p. 60 (as Mantellum hians )
• Guido Poppe. Yoshihiro Goto: European Seashells Volume 2 (Scaphopoda, Bivalvia, Cephalopoda) . 221 p., Verlag Christa Hemmen, Wiesbaden 1993 (2000 unc. Reprint), ISBN 3925919104 (p. 76)

On-line

• Marine Bivalve Shells of the British Isles: Limaria hians (Gmelin, 1791) (site of the National Museum Wales, Department of Natural Sciences, Cardiff)
• Marine Species Identification Portal: Limaria hians

Individual evidence

1. ^ Theodor CH Cole: Dictionary of Invertebrates / Dictionary of Invertebrates: Latin-German-English. Springer Spectrum, Berlin 2017, ISBN 978-3-662-52869-3 , p. 55.
2. ^ Johann Friedrich Gmelin Gmelin: Caroli a Linné, systema naturae. Tom. I. Pars VI. Pp. 3021-3910. Beer, Lipsiae / Leipzig, 1791. Online at www.biodiversitylibrary.org (p. 3332)
3. ↑ MolluscaBase: Limaria hians (Gmelin, 1791)

Web links

Commons : Gaping File Clam ( Limaria hians )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files