Species Account

Limopsis tenella Jeffreys, 1876

Limopsoidea : Limopsidae

Tebble name: n/a
Smith & Heppell name: Limopsis tenella Jeffreys, 1876

To size: To 25mm. Shell Structure: Brittle, opaque. Equivalve: Equivalve. Equilateral: Inequilateral, beaks in front of midline. Tumidity: Somewhat compressed. Outline: Obliquely oval. Contour: Dorsal margin short, straight, dorsal area shallowly cleft.

Sculpture: Smooth with growth lines. Margin: Inner margin smooth. Ligament: Amphidetic, a small triangular resilium set in a shallow resilifer between beaks. Hinge: Taxodont, strong teeth in two series set on a shallow arched hinge plate. Pallial Musculature: Adductor scars unequal, posterior twice size of anterior. Periostracum: Of long fine bristles lying flat against the shell forming a wide fringe around the margins. Colour: White.

Distribution & Ecology

Semi-infaunal, anchored by a byssus, of a single thread, to sediment particles. An abyssal species generally from below 2000m. Rare in Rockall Trough but apparently cosmopolitan.

Depth Range
Abyssal Rise (2000 - 4000m)
Abyssal Plain (4000m +)

Additional Information & Related Species

Juvenile Description

As adults but with few teeth.

Key Features & Similar Species

Very similar to L. aurita but with a thinner shell and more obvious sculpture; do not overlap in bathymetric range.

Related Species

References

Listed are literature citing Limopsis tenella Jeffreys, 1876. Reference containing the species Type Description is highlighted.

Jeffreys J G 1876. New and peculiar Mollusca of the Pecten, Mytilus and Arca families, procured in the Valorous expedition. Annals and magazine of natural History. (4)18: 424-436.
Olabarria C. 2005. Patterns of bathymetric zonation of bivalves in the Porcupine Sea Bight and adjacent abyssal plain, NE Atlantic. Deep-Sea Research I. 52: 15-31.
Oliver G & Allen J A 1980. The Functional and Adaptive Morphology of the Deep-Sea Species of the Family Limopsidae (Bivalvia: Arcoida) from the Atlantic. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London Series B. 291: 77-125.

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