Dosinia exoleta

Artemis mussel ( Dosinia exoleta ( Linnaeus, 1758) )

The Artemis mussel ( Dosinia exoleta ) is a species of bivalve mollusc of the order Veneroida.

Features

The housing is rounded in outline and has a diameter of about 6 cm. It is relatively flat and thick-. The vortex is bent forward, the upper edge of the vortex front is concave, the upper edge curved convex behind the vortex. The surface has only a fine concentric corrugation. The color varies from light brownish- white to yellow, sometimes with a radial banding. The castle has two flaps in three cardinal teeth, standing side by side tightly and engage in corresponding pits in the other flap. The left flap has additionally a posterior, the flap on the right corresponds to a pit. The ligament stretches for about two-thirds the length of the top edge behind the vortex. The surface line is registered low, the bay is relatively narrow. The siphons are rather long and grow together.

Occurrence and life

The Artemis mussel lives completely buried in coarse-grained substrates. Here, the vortex is pointing upwards and therefore the siphons occur at the rear end almost in parallel to the sediment surface before then bend upwards and protrude into the open waters. The animals live from shallow waters to about 100 m depth.

Dissemination

The distribution of Artemis shell is the eastern Atlantic from Norway to West Africa. It also occurs in the North Sea.