Mactra stultorum

Colorful trough shell ( Mactra corallina ( Linnaeus, 1758) )

The Colorful trough shell, also beams basket, basket or radiation dunce cap (Latin Mactra corallina ) is a species of bivalve mollusc of the order Veneroida. The nomenclature and the systematic position of the species are highly controversial.

Features

The case is long and 6 cm. It is domed rounded - triangular and strong; it is relatively thin skin. The swirl is located approximately in the center of the housing. The surface is nearly smooth, only growth lines are present. The surface is glossy; the coloring consists of brown often concentric and radial strips ( "rays", hence the name Basket rays / beams basket). The ligament is in two parts. The outer ligament sits as a thin band behind the vortex, the inner ligament on an extension of the shell ( " Chondrophor ") under the vertebrae. The Castle of the left valve consists of a weak and angled main or cardinal tooth and a front and rear side tooth. The right door has a main gear, and a front and rear side gear pit. The surface line is indented deep, the siphons are in relation to other mussel groups relatively long, but in relation to other types of clams but rather short.

Occurrence and life

The Colorful trough mussel lives buried in predominantly sandy, silty soils relatively rarely, just below the sediment surface. It comes in the North Sea from the intertidal zone down to about 20 m water depth in front, main distribution depth is the area between 10 to 20 m.

Dissemination

The distribution of Colorful trough shell is the eastern Atlantic; it ranges from southern Norway to West Africa ( Senegal). It also comes in the North Sea, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea before (but see the remarks under the scheme ).

System

The nomenclature of these species is very confusing. In many publications and websites it appears under the name Mactra stultorum ( Linnaeus, 1758). Cardium Cardium coral linum and stultorum established by Linnaeus in 1758 in Systema Naturae his. As occurrences of coral linum Cardium Linnaeus gave the Mediterranean Sea, for Cardium stultorum " in O. Europaeo " ( = north Atlantic to the North Sea ). It is up to now unclear whether there are two different kinds or by only one species is also disagreement as to how this type would be to name correctly in the latter case.