Right valve hinge line (internal view)
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Roger McLachlan*
*Please also, see the 'Note' at the bottom of the species account for the species.
Lucinoma borealis
<em>Lucinoma borealis</em> (Linnaeus, 1767)
Left valve hinge line (internal view - annotated)
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Roger McLachlan*
*Please also, see the 'Note' at the bottom of the species account for the species.
Three-quarter view of paired valves (external view)
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Roger McLachlan*
*Please also, see the 'Note' at the bottom of the species account for the species.
Dorsal (external view)
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Roger McLachlan*
*Please also, see the 'Note' at the bottom of the species account for the species.
Right valve (external view)
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Roger McLachlan*
*Please also, see the 'Note' at the bottom of the species account for the species.
Left valve (external view)
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Roger McLachlan*
*Please also, see the 'Note' at the bottom of the species account for the species.
Left valve (internal view)
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Roger McLachlan*
*Please also, see the 'Note' at the bottom of the species account for the species.
Right valve (internal view)
Species
Photographer / copyright holder
Roger McLachlan*
*Please also, see the 'Note' at the bottom of the species account for the species.
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
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.