Species Account

Saccella commutata (Philippi, 1844)

Nuculanoidea : Nuculanidae

Tebble name: n/a
Smith & Heppell name: Jupiteria commutata (Philippi, 1844)

Notes on Nomenclature

Nuculanidae in place of Yoldiidae
Killeen & Turner (2009) use Nuculanidae instead of Yoldiidae in agreement with Ockelmann & Warén (1998) who explan that the distinguishing characters between these two families has never been well documented. Until the Yoldiidae can be clearly distinguished from the Nuculanidae we shall treat them under the single family Nuculanidae.

To size: To 6-7mm. Shell Structure: Relatively thin and brittle. Equivalve: Equivalve. Equilateral: Inequilateral, the beaks lie approximately 60% of dorsal margin length from posterior. Tumidity: Moderately tumid. Outline: Elongate-trigonal with a relatively long, slightly upturned, pointed rostrum (more roundly truncated in juveniles), and conspicuous radial ridge and furrow on anterior slope: antero-dorsal margin slightly rounded and sloping, anterior end deeply rounded; ventral margin well rounded; escutcheon short and indistinct; lunule long, lanceolate, conspicuously raised with well defined, raised, sharp edges. Contour: Rostrate.

Sculpture: Prominent, well defined, raised but thin concentric ridges, regularly and widely spaced but becoming more closely and less regularly spaced towards the outer margins. Margin: Smooth. Ligament: Internal, opisthodetic, with a rounded triangular ligament seated in a well-developed resilifer. Hinge: Taxodont: relatively solid, continuous hinge plate, anterior part curved (slightly convex), narrow below the beaks, broadening towards the anterior end. Posterior part long and concave and narrowing posteriorly. Hinge plate with a well-developed resilifer. Teeth, chevron-shaped, moderately long and pointed, usually 16-18 posterior and 14 anterior of the resilifer. Pallial Musculature: Pallial sinus shallow and indistinct. Periostracum: Matt surface, grey-green to olive coloured. Colour: Translucent greyish.

Distribution & Ecology

A southern species well known from the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts of the Iberian peninsula and extending into the Bay of Biscay. Salas (1996) gives a depth range of 18-544m.
Not yet recorded from our study area.

Depth Range
Continental Shelf (to 200m)
Continental Margin Zone (200 - 500m)

Additional Information & Related Species

References

Listed are literature citing Saccella commutata (Philippi, 1844). Reference containing the species Type Description is highlighted.

Resources

  • Conchological Society of Great Britain & Ireland
    Provides resources for understanding, identifying, recording, and conserving molluscs
  • CLEMAM
    Check List of European Marine Mollusca
  • MarLIN
    The Marine Life Information Network for Britain and Ireland (MarLIN) provides information for marine environmental management, protection and education. It is a centre of excellence in spatially based and time-series marine biological information and supports good stewardship in the marine environment.
  • NBN Gateway
    National Biodiversity Network's Gateway. Use it to explore UK biodiversity data, as contributed by participating data providers.
  • BivAToL
  • MarBEF
  • Malacological Society
  • Unitas Malacologica
  • Census of Marine Life
  • MarBEF
    MarBEF, a network of excellence funded by the European Union and consisting of 94 European marine institutes, is a platform to integrate and disseminate knowledge and expertise on marine biodiversity, with links to researchers, industry, stakeholders and the general public.

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Record last modified: 22/03/2016