Bentharca asperula (Dall 1881)
Arcoidea : Arcidae |
| Tebble name: | n/a |
| Smith & Heppell name: | n/a |
To size:
To 10mm.
Shell Structure:
Thin, opaque.
Equivalve:
Equivalve.
Equilateral:
Inequilateral, beaks at about 1/4 length of dorsal margin from anterior.
Tumidity:
Not inflated.
Outline:
Trapezoidal – wedge shaped, posterior greatly expanded, umbos low; dorsal margin long, straight; posterior margin broadly rounded; ventral and anterior margins continuous gently curved with a prominent byssus indentation; anterior roundly pointed.
Contour:
Posterior angle indistinct; median area with byssal sinus; dorsal area narrow, flat.
Sculpture:
Weak, primarily of well spaced, comarginal, low ridges these cut by radial rows of bristle insertion marks.
Margin:
Inner margin smooth.
Ligament:
Duplivincular, v-shaped ligament bands arising from posterior of dorsal area at first, then between beaks.
Hinge:
Taxodont, teeth very small, in two series separated by an edentulous space, set on a narrow straight hinge plate; up to 5 anterior and 6 posterior teeth; anterior set angled obliquely, posterior set subparallel to dorsal margin.
Pallial Musculature:
Adductor scars unequal, anterior is smaller than posterior.
Periostracum:
Of brown to dark brown bristles over the posterior area, as frills on median and anterior.
Colour:
White.
Distribution & Ecology
Depth Range
Bathyal (500 - 2000m)
Abyssal Rise (2000 - 4000m)
Abyssal Plain (4000m +)
Additional Information & Related Species
Key Features & Similar Species
Related Species
Arcoidea : Arcidae
References
Listed are literature citing Bentharca asperula (Dall 1881). Reference containing the species Type Description is highlighted.
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Dall W H 1881. Reports on the results of dredging, under the supervision of Alexander Agassiz, in the Gulf of Mexico and in the Caribbean Sea, 1877-79, by the U.S. Coast Survey Steamer “Blake”. XV, Preliminary report on the Mollusca. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard. 9: 33-144. |
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Oliver G & Allen J A 1980. The Functional and Adaptive Morphology of the Deep-Sea Species of the Arcacea (Mollusca: Bivalvia) from the Atlantic. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London Series B. 291: 45-76. |
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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