Acanthocardia spinosa

Acanthocardia spinosa
Shell of Acanthocardia spinosa from Apulia at the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Bivalvia
Order: Veneroida
Superfamily: Cardioidea
Family: Cardiidae
Genus: Acanthocardia
Species: A. spinosa
Binomial name
Acanthocardia spinosa
(Lightfoot, 1786)
Synonyms
  • Acanthocardia erinaceus Lamarck
  • Cardium erinaceum Lamarck, 1819
  • Cardium erinaceum var. alba Monterosato, 1872

Acanthocardia spinosa, common name Sand Cockle, is a species of saltwater clams, marine bivalve molluscs in the family Cardiidae. The genus Acanthocardia is present from the Upper Oligocene to the Recent.

Description

The shell of Acanthocardia spinosa can reach a size of 60-95 mm. This shell is robust, round with a heart-shaped profile, equivalve and inflated, with crenulated margins. The surface shows thick narrowly spaced radial ribs, with rows of pronounced thorny hooks. The basic external coloration is usually pale brown; the interior is white.

Distribution

Acanthocardia spinosa can be found in the Mediterranean Sea.

Habitat

This species is present in sand and mud, from low waters to 120 m. Like almost all bivalves, these mollusks are phytoplankton feeders.

References

External links


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/30/2014. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.