Acanthocardia tuberculata

Acanthocardia tuberculata
	One valve of the shell of Acanthocardia tuberculata from Sicily at the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Bivalvia
Order:	Cardiida
Family:	Cardiidae
Genus:	Acanthocardia
Species:	A. tuberculata
Binomial name
	Acanthocardia tuberculata; (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
	Acanthocardia (Rudicardium) tuberculata (Linnaeus, 1758); Cardium rusticum Linnaeus, 1767; Cardium tuberculatum Linnaeus, 1758; Cardium tuberculatum var. mutica Bucquoy, Dautzenberg & Dollfus, 1892; Eucardium tuberculatum (Linnaeus, 1758); Eucardium tuberculatum var. asperula Coen, 1915; Eucardium tuberculatum var. dautzenbergi Coen, 1915; Eucardium tuberculatum var. palaeomutica Coen, 1915; Eucardium tuberculatum var. picta Coen, 1915; Eucardium tuberculatum var. potens Coen, 1915;

Acanthocardia tuberculata, the rough cockle, is a species of saltwater clam, a cockle, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Cardiidae. The genus Acanthocardia is present from the Upper Oligocene to the Recent.

Description

The shell of Acanthocardia tuberculata can reach a size of about 95 mm. This shell is robust, equivalve, inflated and slightly inequilateral, with crenulated margins. The surface shows 18-20 strong radial ribs, with rows of spiny nodules. The basic coloration is usually pale brown with alternating darker concentric bands.

Distribution and habitat

Acanthocardia tuberculata can be found in the Mediterranean Sea and in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean. This species is present in the continental shelf from low tide to 200 m. Like most other bivalves, these mollusks are suspension feeders filtering phytoplankton.

Subspecies

Acanthocardia tuberculata citrinum Brusina, 1865
Acanthocardia tuberculata tuberculata (Linnaeus, 1758)
Acanthocardia tuberculata f. alba

Gallery

Illustration of Acanthocardia tuberculata from Natural History: Mollusca (1854), p. 271
Fossil of Anthocardia tuberculata, Pliocene, Asti (Italy)

References

Repetto G., Orlando F. & Arduino G. (2005): Conchiglie del Mediterraneo, Amici del Museo "Federico Eusebio", Alba, Italy
Biolib
Encyclopedia of life
World Register of Marine Species.
Marine Species Identification
Marine bivalve shells of the British Isles

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