''Lithophaga'', the date mussels, are a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of medium-sized marine bivalve molluscs in the

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

Mytilidae Mytilidae are a family of small to large marine and brackish-water bivalve molluscs in the order Mytilida. One of the genera, '' Limnoperna'', even inhabits freshwater environments. The order has only this one family which contains some 52 gener ...

. Some of the earliest

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

''Lithophaga'' shells have been found in

Mesozoic The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretace ...

rocks from the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Swi ...

and from

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest by ...

.Ludvigsen, Rolf & Beard, Graham. 1997. West Coast Fossils: A Guide to the Ancient Life of Vancouver Island. pg. 102Kleemann, K.H., 1994. Mytilid bivalve ''Lithophaga'' in Upper Triassic coral ''Pamiroseris'' from Zlambach Beds compared with Cretaceous ''Lithophaga alpina''. Facies 30, 151-154. The shells of species in this genus are long and narrow with parallel sides. The animals bore into stone or coral rock with the help of pallial gland secretions,"integument (mollusks)."Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009.

Encyclopædia Britannica 2006 Ultimate Reference Suite DVD An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...

hence the systematic name ''Lithophaga'', which means "stone-eater". Their club-shaped borings are given the

trace fossil A trace fossil, also known as an ichnofossil (; from el, ἴχνος ''ikhnos'' "trace, track"), is a fossil record of biological activity but not the preserved remains of the plant or animal itself. Trace fossils contrast with body fossils, ...

name '' Gastrochaenolites''.

Species

Species within the genus ''Lithophaga'' include: * '' Lithophaga antillarum'' (

d'Orbigny Alcide Charles Victor Marie Dessalines d'Orbigny (6 September 1802 – 30 June 1857) was a French naturalist who made major contributions in many areas, including zoology (including malacology), palaeontology, geology, archaeology and anthrop ...

, 1842) - giant date mussel * '' Lithophaga aristata'' ( Dillwyn, 1817) - scissor date mussel * '' Lithophaga attenuata'' ( Deshayes, 1836) - attenuated date mussel * '' Lithophaga balanas'' Dall * '' Lithophaga balanus'' Dall * '' Lithophaga bisulcata'' (

, 1842) - mahogany date mussel * '' Lithophaga cardigera'' * ''

Lithophaga cavernosa ''Lithophaga'', the date mussels, are a genus of medium-sized Marine (ocean), marine bivalve molluscs in the family (biology), family Mytilidae. Some of the earliest fossil ''Lithophaga'' shells have been found in Mesozoic rocks from the Alps and ...

'' * '' Lithophaga cinnamomeus'' * '' Lithophaga dactylus'' * '' Lithophaga fasciola'' Dall, Bartsch, & Rehder * '' Lithophaga gracilis'' Philippi * '' Lithophaga hawaia'' Dall, Bartsch, & Rehder * '' Lithophaga ilabis'' ( Deshayes) * '' Lithophaga lithophaga'' ( Linne) * '' Lithophaga nigra'' (

, 1842) - black date mussel * '' Lithophaga plumula'' (Hanley, 1844) - feather date mussel * '' Lithophaga punctata'' (Kleemann & Hoeksema, 2002) * '' Lithophaga rogersi'' S. S. Berry, 1957 - Roger's date mussel * '' Lithophaga truncata'' (Gray, 1843) * '' Lithophaga simplex''

References

*
Stephen D. A. Smith, Densities of the endolithic bivalve Lithophaga lessepsiana (Vaillant, 1865) in Pocillopora damicornis, Solitary Islands Marine Park, northern NSW, Australia; Molluscan Research 31(1): 42–46; ISSN 1323-5818
Bivalve genera Extant Triassic first appearances Taxa named by Peter Friedrich Röding {{Mytilidae-stub