''Tellimya ferruginosa'' 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 small

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 ...

Lasaeidae. It is found on the eastern side of the Atlantic Ocean. Bivalves are molluscs with a body compressed between two usually similar shell valves joined by an elastic ligament. There are teeth at the edge of the shell, and the animal has a muscular foot,

gill A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...

s, siphons, mouth and gut and is surrounded by a mantle inside the shell.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Tellimya'' used to be included in the family Montacutidae but has now been transferred to Lasaeidae. Montagu originally described this species as ''Montacuta ferruginosa'' but it is currently placed in the genus ''Tellimya''.

Description

This mollusc grows to up to eight millimetres in length and has a fragile, thin glossy shell. It is broadly oval in shape with the umbo or beak and the hinge being in the posterior half. The ligament joining the two valves is internal. The right valve has a single cardinal tooth which is a continuation of a ridge on the shell. The left valve has a single anterior lateral tooth and there are no posterior lateral teeth on either valve. The

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 ...

is thin and covered with a thick ferruginous deposit. This obscures the

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

of concentric lines with a small number of faint radial lines. The anterior adductor scar is larger than the posterior one. The line made by the edge of the mantle is wide and the margin is entire. There are a number of tubercles along the ventral portion of the middle fold of the mantle. The interior of the shell is white and sometimes nacreous.Marine Species Identification Portal
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Distribution

''Tellimya ferruginosa'' occurs in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

, round the British Isles, north to Norway and south to the Mediterranean Sea,

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

and

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

Biology

''Tellimya ferruginosa'' lives under the surface of the sediment and prefers muddy sand. It is often found living as a

commensal Commensalism is a long-term biological interaction (symbiosis) in which members of one species gain benefits while those of the other species neither benefit nor are harmed. This is in contrast with mutualism, in which both organisms benefit fro ...

of the sea potato, ''

Echinocardium cordatum ''Echinocardium cordatum'', also known as the common heart urchin or the sea potato, is a sea urchin in the family (biology), family Loveniidae. It is found in sub-tidal regions in the NE Atlantic. Other un-named species have been identified as t ...

''. Up to fourteen of the bivalves have been found associated with one urchin.Fish, J.D. and Fish, S., (1996). A student's guide to the seashore. Second edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3017073 Bivalves described in 1808 Lasaeidae