The Conchological Society of Great Britain and Ireland | Helping to understand, identify, record, and conserve molluscs

Thyasira alleni

Taxon version key

[NBNSYS0000187826]

Sort order

9820

Taxonomic group

Marine bivalve

Read more about Thyasira alleni

Lucinella divaricata

Taxon version key

[NBNSYS0000183777]

Sort order

9810

Taxonomic group

Marine bivalve

Read more about Lucinella divaricata

Lucinoma borealis

Vernacular names

Northern lucine

Distribution and status

Common and widely distributed from the Norwegian Sea, the Baltic to the Mediterranean and the Atlantic coast of Morocco.

Lucinoma borealis

The map provided here shows the distribution of the species based on Conchological Society data held by the National Biodiversity Network (NBN). See terms and conditions.

The following datasets are included:

Conchological Society of Great Britain & Ireland: marine mollusc records

Open an NBN Atlas interactive map of this data in a new window.

Ecology and behaviour

A deep burrower into sandy mud or gravel from low intertidal zone down to 100m. Feeds on organic detritus of large, variable, particle size.

Similar species

Loripes lucinalis has a deeply set ligament, maximum size 20mm, deeper set lunule.

Key identification features

Long thin anterior adductor muscle scar only connected at the anterior end to the pallial line.
Two cardinal teeth in each valve, left anterior and right valve posterior are bifid. Both valves have single lateral teeth but these tend to become obscure with age.

References and links

Taxon details available from MolluscaBase (AphiaID 140283):

Lucinoma borealis (Linnaeus, 1767)

For the species account provided by Marine Bivalves of the British Isles click here.

The UK NBN Atlas entry for the species can be accessed via this link.

*NOTE:

This Species Account was provided by Roger McLachlan (November 2023) and uploaded by the ConchSoc Webmaster.

Taxon version key

[NBNSYS0000176258]

Sort order

9800

Taxonomic group

Marine bivalve

Read more about Lucinoma borealis

Thick shell, with beaks just in front of the midline, and almost circular in outline, up to 39 mm long. The outside is a light brownish white and the inside is white. There is no pallial sinus but there is a complete pallial line. The outside is sculpted with irregularly spaced concentric grooves, but the growth lines are not obvious. The ridges are prone to erosion.