Nucula proxima

Nucula proxima
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Bivalvia
Order: Nuculida
Family: Nuculidae
Genus: Nucula
Species:
N. proxima
Binomial name
Nucula proxima
Say, 1822

Nucula proxima, commonly known as the Atlantic nut clam, is a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Nuculidae. It can be found along the Atlantic coast of North America, ranging from Nova Scotia to Texas, including Bermuda.[1][2]

Description

Nucula proxima has a obliquely oval, off-white to gray, shell. The exterior is glossy smooth with brownish conmarginal growth lines. The interior is a nacreous white color with fine radial striations. The length ranges from 3 mm to 10 mm. Size, shape, and color vary based on where the species is environmentally, this has led to multiple named forms.[3]

Ecology

Nucula proxima typically lives on muddy-sand bottoms. Unlike most bivalves which are filter-feeders, N. proxima is a deposit-feeder. Thus it consumes decomposing organic matter film and bacteria that accumulates on the sea floor. They do this by using their labial palp, a proboscis likes structure that has a ciliated groove, to feed.[4][5]

References

  1. ^ Abbott, R.T. & Morris, P.A. A Field Guide to Shells: Atlantic and Gulf Coasts and the West Indies. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1995. 3.
  2. ^ "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Nucula proxima Say, 1822". marinespecies.org. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  3. ^ Mikkelsen, Paula M. (2008). Seashells of southern Florida : living marine mollusks of the Florida keys and adjacent regions, bivalves. Rüdiger Bieler. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-11606-8. OCLC 78071775.
  4. ^ Leal, José H. (2015-09-11). "The Atlantic Nut Clam". shellmuseum. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  5. ^ "Labial palp | mollusk anatomy". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2021-03-12.


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