''Acanthocardia spinosa'', the sand cockle, is a species of saltwater clams,

marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

bivalve Bivalvia (), in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of marine and freshwater molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hinged parts. As a group, bival ...

mollusc Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is esti ...

s in the family

Cardiidae A cockle is an edible marine bivalve mollusc. Although many small edible bivalves are loosely called cockles, true cockles are species in the family Cardiidae. MolluscaBase eds. (2022). MolluscaBase. Cardiidae Lamarck, 1809. Accessed through: W ...

. The genus ''

Acanthocardia ''Acanthocardia'' is a genus of saltwater clams, marine bivalve molluscs in the family Cardiidae. Like most other bivalves, these mollusks are suspension feeders. This genus is present from the Upper Oligocene to the Recent. Species * ''Acantho ...

'' is present from the Upper

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the ...

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 and habitat

''Acanthocardia spinosa'' can be found in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

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

References

* Repetto G., Orlando F. & Arduino G. (2005): Conchiglie del Mediterraneo, Amici del Museo "Federico Eusebio", Alba, Italy
Biolib

Encyclopedia of life

World Register of Marine Species

Shell.sinica

External links

spinosa Conchology

Marine Species Identification

Kmcollection
Cardiidae Molluscs described in 1786 {{Cardiidae-stub