''Scrobicularia plana'', the peppery furrow shell, is a

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 ...

belonging to the family

Semelidae The Semelidae are a family of saltwater clams, marine bivalve molluscs in the order Cardiida. Description Members of this family have rounded or oval, elongated shells, much flattened. The two valves are connected by an internal ligament in c ...

Taxonomy

Although ''Scrobicularia plana'' is the only species currently recognized by

ITIS The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) is an American partnership of federal agencies designed to provide consistent and reliable information on the taxonomy of biological species. ITIS was originally formed in 1996 as an interagenc ...

in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

''Scrobicularia'';

World Register of Marine Species The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scientific specialist ...

recognises another species, '' Scrobicularia cottardi'' as well as some nomen dubia, as does the BioLib. The genus ''Scrobicularia'' is sometimes placed as the sole genus in a family, Scrobicularidae. It is now often placed instead in the related family

, as shown in the infobox. However this placement may change as

molecular systematics Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

provides new insights into the

cladistics Cladistics (; ) is an approach to biological classification in which organisms are categorized in groups (" clades") based on hypotheses of most recent common ancestry. The evidence for hypothesized relationships is typically shared derived char ...

of the bivalves.

Description

The shell can be anything from white through yellowish to a pale brownish-grey in colour, up to 6.5 cm in diameter. Its interior is

nacre Nacre ( , ), also known as mother of pearl, is an organicinorganic composite material produced by some molluscs as an inner shell layer; it is also the material of which pearls are composed. It is strong, resilient, and iridescent. Nacre is f ...

ous and white or yellowish in colour. The shell is thin but quite deep, with circular closely packed growth ridges. It is a

filter feeder Filter feeders are a sub-group of suspension feeding animals that feed by straining suspended matter and food particles from water, typically by passing the water over a specialized filtering structure. Some animals that use this method of feedin ...

, with long

siphon A siphon (from grc, σίφων, síphōn, "pipe, tube", also spelled nonetymologically syphon) is any of a wide variety of devices that involve the flow of liquids through tubes. In a narrower sense, the word refers particularly to a tube in a ...

s, burying itself up to 20 cm deep in sand or mud. When buried, it leaves star-shaped markings on the surface, and specimens can be found by looking for these. If the siphons are browsed by fish or other predators, they regenerate in a few days.

Right and left valve of the same specimen: File:Scrobicularia plana 01.jpg, Right valve File:Scrobicularia plana 02.jpg, Left valve

Distribution and habitat

This species is commonly found at quite high densities on sandy or muddy sea coasts and

estuaries An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

in northern

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, the

Mediterranean 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 e ...

and

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

Commercial use

The peppery furrow shell is edible and can be found in some fish shops in France, where they are called ''lavignons''.

References

External links

Movie clip of peppery furrow shell feeding
Semelidae Molluscs of the Atlantic Ocean Molluscs of the Mediterranean Sea Taxa named by Emanuel Mendes da Costa Bivalves described in 1778 {{bivalve-stub