''Modiolus barbatus'', the bearded horse mussel, is a
species of "horse
mussel
Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and Freshwater bivalve, freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other ...
", 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 Mytilidae, the mussels.
The fossil record of this species dates back to the
Pliocene (age range: 3.6 to 2.588 million years ago).
Fossilworks
/ref>
Description
The shell of an adult ''Modiolus barbatus'' can be as long as .[A. Lok, S. Acarli, S. Serdar, A. Kose and P. Goulletque]
GROWTH AND SURVIVAL RATES OF BEARDED HORSE MUSSEL (MODIOLUS BARBATUS LINNE, 1758) IN MERSIN BAY (TURKEY)
/ref>[ The shape is elongated and ovoid or rhomboidal with a curved or obtuse dorsal margin. The outer surface of the shell is dark brown, while the inside of the valves is blue or slightly iridescent gray. These mussles are characterized by a '']periostracum
The periostracum ( ) is a thin, organic coating (or "skin") that is the outermost layer of the shell of many shelled animals, including molluscs and brachiopods. Among molluscs, it is primarily seen in snails and clams, i.e. in gastropods and ...
'' with long, stiff, flat bristles. They are attached with strong '' byssus'' to the underground.[MarLIN]
/ref>
Distribution and Habitat
This species is present from the Mediterranean Sea to the Black Sea, on the southern and western coasts of Great Britain and Ireland and along the Atlantic coast of Morocco. It inhabits in large communities on rocks and stones the coastal marine environments at depths of 5 to 110 m.[
]
Human use
The ''bearded horse mussels'' are harvested for human consumption from their natural beds, together with '' Mytilus galloprovincialis''.[
]
References
barbatus
Bivalves described in 1758
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
{{Mytilidae-stub