Acanthocardia tuberculata

Acanthocardia tuberculata, the rough cockle, is a species of saltwater clam, a cockle, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Cardiidae. The genus Acanthocardia is present from the Upper Oligocene to the Recent.

Acanthocardia tuberculata
One valve of the shell of Acanthocardia tuberculata from Sicily at the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Bivalvia
Order:	Cardiida
Family:	Cardiidae
Genus:	Acanthocardia
Species:	A. tuberculata
Binomial name
Acanthocardia tuberculata (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
Acanthocardia (Rudicardium) tuberculata (Linnaeus, 1758) Cardium rusticum Linnaeus, 1767 Cardium tuberculatum Linnaeus, 1758 Cardium tuberculatum var. mutica Bucquoy, Dautzenberg & Dollfus, 1892 Eucardium tuberculatum (Linnaeus, 1758) Eucardium tuberculatum var. asperula Coen, 1915 Eucardium tuberculatum var. dautzenbergi Coen, 1915 Eucardium tuberculatum var. palaeomutica Coen, 1915 Eucardium tuberculatum var. picta Coen, 1915 Eucardium tuberculatum var. potens Coen, 1915

Description

The shell of Acanthocardia tuberculata can reach a size of about 95 mm. This shell is robust, equivalve, inflated and slightly inequilateral, with crenulated margins. The surface shows 18-20 strong radial ribs, with rows of spiny nodules. The basic coloration is usually pale brown with alternating darker concentric bands.

Right and left valve of the same specimen:

• 
  Right valve
• 
  Left valve

var. alba

Distribution and habitat

Acanthocardia tuberculata can be found in the Mediterranean Sea and in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean. This species is present in the continental shelf from low tide to 200 m. Like most other bivalves, these mollusks are suspension feeders filtering phytoplankton.

Subspecies

• Acanthocardia tuberculata citrinum Brusina, 1865
• Acanthocardia tuberculata tuberculata (Linnaeus, 1758)
• Acanthocardia tuberculata f. alba

Gallery

• 
  Illustration of Acanthocardia tuberculata from Natural History: Mollusca (1854), p. 271
• 
  Fossil of Anthocardia tuberculata, Pliocene, Asti (Italy)

References

• Repetto G., Orlando F. & Arduino G. (2005): Conchiglie del Mediterraneo, Amici del Museo "Federico Eusebio", Alba, Italy
• Biolib
• Encyclopedia of life
• World Register of Marine Species.
• Marine Species Identification
• Marine bivalve shells of the British Isles