Species Account

Yoldiella ella Allen, Sanders & Hannah 1995

Nuculanoidea : Nuculanidae

Tebble name: n/a
Smith & Heppell name: n/a

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 4.2mm. Shell Structure: Thin, fragile. Equivalve: Equivalve. Equilateral: Almost equilateral. Tumidity: Moderately inflated. Outline: Rounded, relatively deeply oval – height of shell approximately 70-75% of length: postero-dorsal margin short, gently sloping; antero-dorsal margin sloping more steeply; posterior margin broadly rounded; anterior margin rounded; ventral margin deeply rounded, lowest point posterior of midline. Umbo small, not prominent, projecting just above the dorsal margin, located at the midline.

Sculpture: Sculpture of very weak striations, increasing in strength towards the ventral margin. Larger individuals may have faint radial lines. Margin: Smooth. Ligament: Amphidetic, attached internally to the underside of the beak without a projecting chondrophore or resilifer. Relatively short. Hinge: Taxodont: moderately strong, angled below umbo, up to 9 well-developed chevron-shaped teeth on either side of the ligament. Periostracum: Glossy, straw coloured. Colour: Translucent white. Additional Characters: The hind-gut lies on the right side of the body and forms a complex series of clockwise and anticlockwise coils.
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Distribution & Ecology

Western European Basin between 47° to 50° N, and 09° to 16° W, in depths from 2862 to 4829m. Also known from the North American, Sierra Leone and Angola Basins in similar depths.

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

Additional Information & Related Species

References

Listed are literature citing Yoldiella ella Allen, Sanders & Hannah 1995. Reference containing the species Type Description is highlighted.

Allen, J.A., Sanders, H.L. & Hannah, F. 1995. Studies on the deep-sea Protobranchia (Bivalvia); the subfamily Yoldiellinae. Bulletin of the British Museum of Natural History. 61: 11-90.

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.

Record last modified: 22/03/2016