Saddle shell
| Saddle shell | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saddle shell ( Anomia ephippium ), left flap from inside and outside |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Anomia ephippium | ||||||||||||
| Linnaeus , 1758 |
The saddle mussel , also onion mussel ( Anomia ephippium ), is a type of mussel from the order of the Pectinida . It also occurs on the German North Sea coast. Their two German names are derived from the differently pronounced shell flaps: the right one is saddle-shaped indented and the left one is leafy - like the peel of an onion.
features
The thin, almost round housing is up to 6 cm in size. The skin is often pale pink to purple in color. The inside is pearly . The right (lower) flap is flat with a rounded, not completely closed opening for the byssus . There is only one sphincter attachment on the valve. The ornamentation consists of irregular and weak, concentric ribs. The left (upper) valve is slightly more arched and has three muscle attachment points, one for the sphincter muscle and two for the byssus muscle. In individuals from the Mediterranean, the outside of the left valve is usually quite thin and densely covered with lamellar, slightly translucent ribs. In the Atlantic, the left flap is more stable and often almost smooth (but often overgrown).
Way of life
The saddle shell has grown firmly to the ground with the calcified byssus. As a result, the final shape of the housing is determined by the morphology of the subsurface. The upper flap is often covered with barnacles , tube worms and algae. The mussel lives on plankton, which it filters out of the water.
Occurrence
The saddle shell is widespread in the Atlantic from Iceland to the South Atlantic. It also penetrates the marginal seas of the Atlantic, the North Sea, the Mediterranean and even the Black Sea. It lives in shallower water, from the tidal range to about 150 m depth.
Systematics
Some authors place the family Anomiidae in the order Ostreoida. Therefore, the species is sometimes found among the oysters .
literature
- Fritz Nordsieck: The European seashells: From the Arctic Ocean to Cape Verde, the Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea. 256 p., Stuttgart, G. Fischer 1969.
- Rainer Willmann: Mussels of the North and Baltic Seas. Neumann-Neudamm, Melsungen 1989 ISBN 3-7888-0555-2
Web links
- Anomia ephippium (Linneo, 1758) on the Conchiglie Veneziane (German Venetian mussels) site of the Liceo Classico Marco Foscarini in Venice (Italian)