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Calliostoma granulatum

Submitted by Steve Wilkinson on Sat, 05/12/2009 22:15
Distribution and status

Occassional. Occurs from the south of the British Isles to the Azores and into the Mediterranean.

The map provided here shows the distribution of the species based on Conchological Society data.

Ecology and behaviour

Lives subtidally on gravel or soft bottoms.

Similar species
  • Calliostoma zizyphinum spiral ridges on the last whorl are not beaded
  • Jujubinus miliaris has a clearly reticulated sculpture on the shell surface
Key identification features
  • Conical shell with slightly concave sides and a pointed apex
  • Breadth approximately equal to height
  • Shell has spiral ridges which are beaded but not reticulated
Taxon version key
[NBNSYS0000180043]
Sort order
820
Taxonomic group
Marine snail
  • Read more about Calliostoma granulatum

Conical shell up to 35mm in height with 7 to 9 whorls. Colour is pale yellow marked with red brown spots or streaks. The shell is sculptured with spiral ridges raised into promient granular points. These major ridges are interspersed with smaller ones which are smooth. The animal has three pairs of epipodial tentacles.

Calliostoma formosum

Submitted by Steve Wilkinson on Sat, 05/12/2009 22:15
Vernacular names
Boreal topsnail
Distribution and status

Rare. A northern species, recorded from the British Isles (mainly in the north), the Northern Isles and coast of Norway.

The map provided here shows the distribution of the species based on Conchological Society data.

Ecology and behaviour

Lives on stones where it feeds on alcyonarians and hydroids.

Similar species
  • Calliostoma zizyphinum has more than 5 spiral ridges
  • Calliostoma granulatum has more than 5 spiral ridges
Key identification features
  • Conical shell with flat sides and a pointed apex
  • Breadth approximately equal to height
  • Shell has only 4 to 5 spiral ridges at the end of the last whorl
Taxon version key
[NBNSYS0000180042]
Sort order
790
Taxonomic group
Marine snail
  • Read more about Calliostoma formosum

Conical shell up to 12mm in height with about seven whorls. The shell is thin and semi-transparent and golden to reddish lustre. Shell surface is sculptured with 4 or 5 spiral ridges some of which have knot-like swellings. The animal possesses three pairs of epipodal tentacles.

Buccinum humphreysianum

Submitted by Steve Wilkinson on Sat, 05/12/2009 22:15
Distribution and status

Rare. Norway to Mediterranean. Shetlands, west Scotland, west and south Ireland.

The map provided here shows the distribution of the species based on Conchological Society data.

Ecology and behaviour

Found on soft bottoms. Ecology may be similar to Buccinum undatum.

Similar species
  • Buccinum undatum Much larger and coarser
  • Liomesus ovum Shell oval, denser, apex blunt
Key identification features
  • Shell very thin, appears smooth, but finely reticulate
  • Teardrop shaped shell
  • Pale brown, may have reddish streaks or spots
Taxon version key
[NBNSYS0000179949]
Sort order
2860
Taxonomic group
Marine snail
  • Read more about Buccinum humphreysianum

Teardrop shaped shell, 7-8 tumid whorls, up to 45mm high, apex sharp. Shell very thin, appears smooth, but finely reticulate. Pale brown, may have reddish streaks or spots. Mouth oval, outer lip thin, siphonal canal short, inner lip callus thin and shiny.

Beringius turtoni

Submitted by Steve Wilkinson on Sat, 05/12/2009 22:15
Distribution and status

The map provided here shows the distribution of the species based on Conchological Society data.

Ecology and behaviour

Lives on muddy bottoms.

Similar species
  • Buccinum undatum Sinuous vertical costae, a strong, short siphonal canal
  • Neptunea antiqua Sculpture usually fine spiral lines and ridges, heavier shell
  • Volutopsius norwegicus Very little sculpture, thin periostracum, porcellaneous shell
Key identification features
  • Columnar apical whorls
  • Corded sculpture
  • Yellowish green periostracum
Taxon version key
[NBNSYS0000179760]
Sort order
2890
Taxonomic group
Marine snail
  • Read more about Beringius turtoni

Tall, loosely coiled, turreted shell, up to 130mm high. Apex blunt, next few whorls tend to be columnar, last adult whorls rounded, 7-8 in all. Shell lightweight. Sculpture of numerous shallow cords with growth lines. Shell whitish, with a yellowish green periostracum which may be rubbed off. Mouth D shaped, the siphonal canal barely present. The adult outer lip may be slightly flared, the inner lip is covered by a thin callus. Narrow and broad forms exist.

Bentharca nodulosa

Submitted by Steve Wilkinson on Sat, 05/12/2009 22:15
Distribution and status

Rare. Distributed from Denmark to the Iberian Peninsula and into the Mediterranean.

Asperarca nodulosa

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.

Key identification features
  • Hinge has 10-20 teeth in a slight curve
  • Round or oval shell
  • The margin is smooth
References and links

Taxon details available from MolluscaBase (AphiaID 138791):

Asperarca nodulosa (O. F. Müller, 1776)

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.

Taxon version key
[NBNSYS0000179753]
Sort order
9230
Taxonomic group
Marine bivalve
  • Read more about Bentharca nodulosa

Solid shell up to 1.5cm in length. It is dirt white in colour with yellow-brown perisostracum. The inside of the shell is white. The surface is sculptured with fine concentric ridges and very fine radiating lines.

Bathyarca petunculoides

Submitted by Steve Wilkinson on Sat, 05/12/2009 22:15
Distribution and status

Rare. Distributed from Norway south to the Iberian Peninsula and into the Mediterranean.

The map provided here shows the distribution of the species based on Conchological Society data.

Key identification features
  • The teeth are small in the middle of the hnge getting larger towards the edges
  • The left valve is more convex than the right
Taxon version key
[NBNSYS0000179687]
Sort order
9240
Taxonomic group
Marine bivalve
  • Read more about Bathyarca petunculoides

Solid shell up to 0.5cm in length. It is dirty white in colour with pale yellow periostracum. The inside of the shell is white. The surface is sculptured with fine concentric lines and radiating ridges causing the surface to appear reticulated.

Arcopella balaustina

Submitted by Steve Wilkinson on Sat, 05/12/2009 22:15
Distribution and status

Rare. Recorded from Britain south to the Iberian Peninsula and into the Mediterranean.

The map provided here shows the distribution of the species based on Conchological Society data.

Note, MolluscaBase indicates that Arcopella balaustina (Linnaeus, 1758) is the currently accepted name for this species. Arcopagia balaustina (Linnaeus, 1758) is therefore considered a synonym at present.

Ecology and behaviour

Burrows in fine sand where it feeds on organic detritus picked up through the siphon.

Similar species
  • Arcopagia crassa has a much thicker shell
Key identification features
  • Lower margin of pallial sinus not confluent with pallial line
  • Brittle oval shell
Taxon version key
[NBNSYS0000179354]
Sort order
10600
Taxonomic group
Marine bivalve
  • Read more about Arcopella balaustina

Brittle shell up to about 2cm in length. White or pale yellow in colour sometimes with pink or red-brown radiating rays. Inside of shell is polished and tinged with orange. Exterior of shell is sculptured with prominent concentric ridges.

Idas simpsoni

Submitted by Steve Wilkinson on Sat, 05/12/2009 22:15
Distribution and status

Idas simpsoni

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

Found on the skulls of whales attached by byssus threads in suitable crevices.

The species has also been found on oily drill cuttings in the North Sea (Southward 2008); colonising sunken wood (Laming et. al. 2015); and from at least one cold-seep site (Ritt et. al. 2012).

Key identification features
  • The hinge is parallel to the ventral margin of the shell
References and links

Laming, S. R., Szafranski, K. M., Rodrigues, C. F., Gaudron, S. M., Cunha, M. R., Hilário, A., Le Bris, N., & Duperron, S. (2015). Fickle or Faithful: The Roles of Host and Environmental Context in Determining Symbiont Composition in Two Bathymodioline Mussels. PLoS ONE, 10(12), e0144307.

Ritt, B., Duperron, S., Lorion, J., Sara Lazar, C., & Sarrazin, J. (2012). Integrative study of a new cold-seep mussel (Mollusca: Bivalvia) associated with chemosynthetic symbionts in the Marmara Sea. Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers, 67, 121–132.

Southward, E. C. (2008). The Morphology of Bacterial Symbioses in the Gills of Mussels of the Genera Adipicola and Idas (Bivalvia: Mytilidae). Journal of Shellfish Research, 27(1), 139–146.

Taxon details available from MolluscaBase (AphiaID 140458):

Idas simpsoni (J. T. Marshall, 1900)

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.

Taxon version key
[NBNSYS0000178833]
Sort order
9320
Taxonomic group
Marine bivalve
  • Read more about Idas simpsoni

Fragile shell up to 2cm in length. It is dirty white in colour but this is obscured by yellow brown periostracum. The inside is pearl white. The surface is sculptured with fine concentric and a few radiating lines.

Acanthocardia paucicostata

Submitted by Steve Wilkinson on Sat, 05/12/2009 22:15
Distribution and status

Occurs chiefly in the Mediterranean and Black Sea and on the more southern coasts of Europe to Morocco and the Canaries. Reported in continental literature as occuring in England with the first substantiated record published in the Journal of Conchology (Barfield, 2017).

Acanthocardia paucicostata

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

Lives in sand offshore from low water to about 300m.

Key identification features
  • Fine straight concentric riblets or striations between and across the ribs
References and links

Barfield, P. (2017). First evidence of the poorly ribbed cockle, Acanthocardia paucicostata (G. B. Sowerby II, 1834) in UK waters. Journal of Conchology,  42(6), 537-539.

Taxon details available from MolluscaBase (AphiaID 138993):

Acanthocardia paucicostata (G. B. Sowerby II, 1834)

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.

Taxon version key
[NBNSYS0000178737]
Sort order
10260
Taxonomic group
Marine bivalve
  • Read more about Acanthocardia paucicostata

Shell up to 40mm long, 40mm high, 30mm wide, somewhat thin-shelled, roundish oval. In older adults the shell is slightly produced posteriorly but there is no keel. Strongly radially ribbed, 16-18 ribs, wide-spaced, with fine straight concentric riblets or striations between and across the ribs. An intermittent fine ridge along the ribs. Spines stumpy, tuberculate, enrolled. Ribs shown as fluting on the inside of the shell, generaly extending througout. Growth lines
usually distinct. Teeth very similar to those of the preceding species. Juveniles similar to the adult.

Abra longicallus

Submitted by Steve Wilkinson on Sat, 05/12/2009 22:15
Distribution and status

A deep water species found, in particular, on the continental margin between 200 - 500m depth (but also at much greater depths). Distributed from the Norwegian Sea to the Iberian Peninsula and into the Mediterranean.

Abra longicallus

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

Burrows in mud where it feeds on organic detritus picked up through the siphon.

Key identification features
  • Sculpture includes radiating lines (but may be worn away)
References and links

Taxon details available from MolluscaBase (AphiaID: 141434):

Abra longicallus (Scacchi, 1835)

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

The UK National Biodiversity Network (NBN) Atlas entry for the species can be accessed via this link.

Taxon version key
[NBNSYS0000178724]
Sort order
10810
Taxonomic group
Marine bivalve
  • Read more about Abra longicallus

Shell up to about 2cm in length. Brittle. White in colour. Sculpture of fine concentric rings and radiating lines (but these may be worn away). Deep pallial sinus which is partially confluent with the pallial line.

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