''Glycymeris nummaria'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of saltwater clam, a

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 ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Glycymerididae Glycymerididae, often misspelled as Glycymeridae, common names dog cockles or bittersweets, is a worldwide family of salt water clams, marine bivalve mollusks in the order Arcida. They are related to the ark clams. This family contains 45 extan ...

, the bittersweet clams.

Synonyms

* ''Arca insubrica'' Brocchi, 1814 * ''Arca nummaria'' Linnaeus, 1758 * ''Glycymeris insubrica'' (Brocchi, 1814) * ''Glycymeris violacescens'' (Lamarck, 1819) * ''Pectunculus cor'' Lamarck, 1805 * ''Pectunculus nudicardo'' Lamarck, 1819 * ''Pectunculus obliquatus'' Rayneval & Ponzi, 1854 * ''Pectunculus pilosellus'' Risso, 1826 * ''Pectunculus purpurascens'' M' Andrew, 1854 * ''Pectunculus reticulatus'' Risso, 1826 * ''Pectunculus transversus'' Lamarck, 1819 * ''Pectunculus zonalis'' Lamarck, 1819

Description

The shell of an adult ''Glycymeris nummaria'' can be as large as . It is quite thick, almost circular in shape, with a sculpture of radiating striae and fine concentric lines. The surface is dull and may be dark or pale brown, but also whitish-yellowish. Inside of the shell is glossy, white or pale yellow, often with irregular brown markings.

Distribution and habitat

This species is widespread from Norway to the Mediterranean Sea. It lives in sandy-muddy gravels offshore to depths of about .

References

*Melita Peharda, Marija Crnčević, Ivana Bušelić, Chris A. Richardson and Daria Ezgeta-Balić
Growth And Longevity of Glycymeris nummaria (Linnaeus, 1758) from the Eastern Adriatic, Croatia

External links

* Najdek M., Ezgeta-Balić D., Blažina M., Crnčević M. & Peharda M. (2016). "Potential food sources of ''Glycymeris nummaria'' (Mollusca: Bivalvia) during the annual cycleindicated by fatty acid analysis". ''

Scientia Marina ''Scientia Marina'', formerly ''Investigación Pesquera'', is a peer-reviewed academic journal on marine research published by Institut de Ciències del Mar de Barcelona ( CSIC) since 1955. The journal is abstracted and indexed in the Science Ci ...

'' 80(1): 123-129. . nummaria Molluscs described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{bivalve-stub