Enigmonia
Enigmonia | |
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Enigmonia aenigmatica | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Mollusca |
Class: | Bivalvia |
Order: | Pectinida |
Family: | Anomiidae |
Genus: | Enigmonia Iredale, 1918 [2] |
Species: | E. aenigmatica
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Binomial name | |
Enigmonia aenigmatica (Holten, 1802) [1]
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Synonyms[1] | |
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Enigmonia is a
Description
The mangrove jingle shell clam can grow to a length of about 3 centimetres (1.2 in). The shell is thin and delicate. Although this species is a bivalve, only the upper valve is normally visible, and that valve is elongated or oval with a low dome, and thus the general appearance which is like that of a limpet. The umbone of the shell is off centre, near the dorsal margin of the shell. A few fine ridges radiate from the umbone and there is a sculpting of concentric growth rings. The lower valve has a hole or notch in it through which byssus threads pass which attach it to a hard surface, usually a branch, leaf or aerial root of a mangrove tree.[3] The lower valve is curved so as to adhere closely to the surface on which it rests. Unlike most other bivalves, but like others in the genus, it has a single adductor muscle holding the two valves together.[4]
The
The mangrove jingle shell has two distinct colour varieties, one cream, usually found on the underside of mangrove leaves, and the other brownish purple and found on mangrove bark. At first it was thought that these represented two different species or two morphs occupying different habitats. However, in an experiment, cream-coloured shells were transplanted from leaves onto mangrove branches and began to change colour over the course of a few weeks. They became purplish-brown at the margins where new shell material was laid down. Other cream-coloured shells were left as controls on leaves and they showed no colour changes. The researchers concluded that the colour of the shell was not genetically controlled but was determined by the nature of the substrate on which the animal lived.[6]
Distribution
The mangrove jingle shell is found on coasts in the tropical
Biology
The mangrove jingle shell is a filter feeder. Like bivalves living in the intertidal zone on sandy beaches, this species feeds while the tide is in and it is submerged; otherwise it gathers food particles from splashes of sea water.[4]
References
- ^ a b Rosenberg, Gary; Huber, Markus (2010). "Enigmonia aenigmatica (Holten, 1802)". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2012-04-23.
- ^ Tran, Bastien (2010). "Enigmonia Iredale, 1918". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2012-04-23.
- ^ Mangrove jingle shell: Enigmonia aenigmatica Wildsingapore. Retrieved 2012-04-23.
- ^ .
- ^ S2CID 4222635.
- ISBN 978-9622093560.