WoRMS taxon details
Abra alba (W. Wood, 1802)
AphiaID: 141433
AphiaID: 141433
| Classification: Biota > Animalia (Kingdom) > Mollusca (Phylum) > Bivalvia (Class) > Heterodonta (Subclass) > Euheterodonta (Infraclass) > Veneroida (Order) > Tellinoidea (Superfamily) > Semelidae (Family) > Abra (Genus) |
| Status | accepted | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Record status | Checked by Taxonomic Editor | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rank | Species | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parent | Abra Lamarck, 1818 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Synonymised taxa |
Amphidesma boysiana Leach in Gray, 1852 Erycina renieri Philippi, 1836 Erycina tumida Brusina, 1865 Mactra alba W. Wood, 1802 Mactra boysii Montagu, 1803 Syndosmya apelina Récluz, 1843 Syndosmya occitanica Récluz in Chenu, 1844 Tellina pellucida Brocchi, 1814 Tellina semidentata Scacchi, 1833 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sources |
basis of record: Huber M. (2010) Compendium of bivalves. A full-color guide to 3,300 of the world’s marine bivalves. A status on Bivalvia after 250 years of research.
Hackenheim: ConchBooks. 901 pp., 1 CD-ROM.
[details] basis of record: Gofas, S.; Le Renard, J.; Bouchet, P. (2001). Mollusca, in: Costello, M.J. et al. (Ed.) (2001). European register of marine species: a check-list of the marine species in Europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification. Collection Patrimoines Naturels, 50: pp. 180-213 (look up in IMIS) [details] additional source: Muller, Y. (2004). Faune et flore du littoral du Nord, du Pas-de-Calais et de la Belgique: inventaire. [Coastal fauna and flora of the Nord, Pas-de-Calais and Belgium: inventory]. Commission Régionale de Biologie Région Nord Pas-de-Calais: France. 307 pp. (look up in IMIS) [details] additional source: Backeljau, T. (1986). Lijst van de recente mariene mollusken van België [List of the recent marine molluscs of Belgium]. Koninklijk Belgisch Instituut voor Natuurwetenschappen: Brussels, Belgium. 106 pp. (look up in IMIS) [details] additional source: Zamouri-Langar, N.; Chouba, L.; Ajjabi Chebil, L.; Mrabet, R.; El Abed, A. (2011). Les coquillages bivalves des côtes tunisiennes. Institut National des Sciences et Technologies de la Mer: Salammbô. ISBN 978-9938-9512-0-2. 128 pp. (look up in IMIS) [details] additional source: Dyntaxa (2013) Swedish Taxonomic Database. Accessed at www.dyntaxa.se [15-01-2013]., available online at http://www.dyntaxa.se [details] context source (Deepsea): Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO. The Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS), available online at http://www.iobis.org/ [details] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vernacular Names |
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| Environment | marine | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distribution | Azores Exclusive Economic Zone [details] Belgian Exclusive Economic Zone [details] Boughrara Lagoon [details] British Isles [details] De Haan [details] De Panne [details] Dutch Exclusive Economic Zone [details] European waters (ERMS scope) [details] Ghar El Melh lagoon [details] Greek Exclusive Economic Zone [details] Gulf of Gabès [details] Irish Exclusive economic Zone [details] Italy [details] Mediterranean Sea [details] Monastir [details] North Coast of Tunisia [details] Norwegian Exclusive Economic Zone [details] Oostduinkerke [details] Oostende [details] Swedish Exclusive Economic Zone [details] Tunis Gulf [details] Tunis Lagoon [details] Ukrainian Exclusive Economic Zone [details] United Kingdom Exclusive Economic Zone [details] Wenduine [details] West Africa [details] Wimereux [details] Zeebrugge [details] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Feedingtypes |
deposit feeder [details]
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| Host of |
Leptinogaster histrio (Pelseneer, 1929) (parasitic: ectoparasitic)
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| Links | BIOTIC Encyclopedia of Marine Life of Britain and Ireland Marine Life Information Network - UK To Biodiversity Heritage Library (60 publications) To CLEMAM To Dyntaxa To Encyclopedia of Life To GenBank (4 nucleotides; 0 proteins) To Marine Bivalves of the British Isles webpage at National Museum of Wales To Marine Species Identification Portal To PESI To ITIS | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notes |
Biology: A. alba and Tellina fabula are two species occupying the same feeding niche since both can feed on deposit as well as on suspended material. Competition between the two species may result in the slow growth of the later-settling T. fabula. [details] Biology: The production of a large number of small-sized eggs suggests that A. alba has a larval development with a long pelagic life. The optimal spawning period of the bivalve lies between May and August. The first postlarvae have a shell length of btween 200 and 300 µm. Specimens that settle in early summer grow rapidly, while another spatfall in late summer or autumn apparently does not grow until the following spring. Most specimens of A. alba live only one year, reaching modal lengths of 12-14 mm. Specimens that live for two years grow to 13-16 mm and the maximum length reached is 20-25 mm. The abundance of A. alba typically fluctuates widely from year to year due to variation in recruitment success or adult mortality. A. alba is capable of rapidly exploiting any new disturbed substratum suitable for colonisation, either through larval recruitment, secondary settlement or post-metamorphosis juveniles or re-distribution of adults following storms. A thin-shelled selective deposit [details] Description: Small (up to 25mm long), thin and fragile shell. Oval shape, rather flat with thin concentric growth lines. The shells are shiny white and somehow transparent. Abra alba lives rather deep in the bottom and feeds on sediment by means of long, individually separated stretchable siphons. [details] Distribution: During both periods Abra alba is a common species in the near-coastal zone. The species is only rarely found further than 30 km off the coast. Abra alba locally reaches very high densities: up to about 14,000 ind./m2 in the 1976-1986 period and appr. 5,000 ind./m2 in the 1994-2001 period. The highest densities are observed near the western coastal zone in both periods. [details] Distribution: In the investigated area A. alba is very abundant in the south-eastern part of the Oyster Ground and the Frisian Front area. The bivalve is also present near the Dutch coast and in the Voordelta area, where its distribution extends into the Westerschelde and the Grevelingenmeer. The highest densities in the Delta area are found in the Oosterschelde. In the western part of the Wadden Sea and at the Balgzand the species is present in low densities. Highest biomass is found along the Dutch coast and in the central part of the Frisian Front area. Other investigations found the species to be confined to a more or less narrow strip of sea bottom near the shore (Eisma, 1966; Tebble, 1966; Wolff, 1973; Hayward & Ryland, 1990;< Rees & Dare, 1993). [details] Habitat: Known from rocky shores. [details] Habitat: Abra alba can be found in all sediment types. However, the species does tend to prefer (> 50% of the samples) fine-grained sediments with a median grain size between 50 and 250 μm and a mud content of 10-50%. In coarse sediments (median grain size > 300 μm) with a low mud content (< 10%) the A. alba is rather rare. [details] Morphology: The shell is thin and brittle, broadly oval in outline. It is up to 25 mm long and has a sculpture of fine concentric lines. The growth stages are clear. The shell is white in colour, covered with a light brown periostracum. The interior of the shell is white. [details] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Images |
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| LSID | urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:141433 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxonomic Edit history |
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[Taxonomic tree] [Distribution map] [Google] [Google scholar] [Google images] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Citation: Huber, M.; Gofas, S. (2013). Abra alba (W. Wood, 1802). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=141433 on 2013-05-22 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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