Chlamys swifti

Chlamys swifti
One valve of Chlamys swifti from Japan, on display at the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Bivalvia
Order: Ostreoida
Suborder: Pectinina
Superfamily: Pectinoidea
Family: Pectinidae
Genus: Chlamys
Species: C. swifti
Binomial name
Chlamys swifti
Bernardi, 1858

Chlamys swifti, common name Swift's scallop, is a species of bivalve mollusc in the family Pectinidae.

Description

Chlamys swifti has a shell reaching a size of 65–90 millimetres (2.6–3.5 in), with a maximum of 120 millimetres (4.7 in). The shell is fan-shaped and it is composed of two valves, each of which is convex and has a few broad ribs. These radiate from the umbone, the rounded protuberance near the hinge. Beside the hinge are two irregular shell flaps or auricles with the anterior one normally being much larger than the other. This provides an attachment for the single strong adductor muscle that closes the shell. The background colour varies from pale brown to pale purple. These scallops can live up to 13 years. They are filter feeders, sieving microscopic algae from water that passes though its gills.

Distribution and habitat

This species is native to the southern coasts of the Sea of Japan, in Western Sakhalin, Hokkaido and Honshu Island. This low-boreal species lives attached by a byssus under rocks. It prefers shallow near-bottom waters in intertidal areas at depths of 2–140 metres (6 ft 7 in–459 ft 4 in).

References


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/8/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.