Arcuatula perfragilis
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| Arcuatula perfragilis | |
|---|---|
_Figure_32.jpg) | |
| Arcuatula perfragilis | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Bivalvia |
| Order: | Mytilida |
| Family: | Mytilidae |
| Genus: | Arcuatula |
| Species: | A. perfragilis |
| Binomial name | |
| Arcuatula perfragilis (Dunker), 1857) | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Arcuatula perfragilis is a bivalve mollusc of the mussel family, Mytilidae, which has an Indo-Pacific distribution including the Red Sea. It has invaded the eastern Mediterranean from the Red Sea by way of the Suez Canal, a process known as Lessepsian migration.
Arcuatula perfragilis has a pale green, equivalve shell with a few yellowish radial lines on the dorsal to posterior portion of the valves. The valves are typical mussel-shaped in that they are narrowly ovoid and transversely elongated. The periostracum is shiny. The surface of the valve has a very weak pattern of radiating lines which is discernible only by the strong ligament along the hinge line typical of the family mytilidae. This hinge has between 1 and 5 small dysodont teeth at the anterior end with a further15 towards the posterior part beyond the ligament. The shell length is normally 20mm.[2]
It can be identified from Arcuatula senhousia in the Mediterranean by its having a darker, less shiny, more rounded shell and because it possesses less distinct, fewer, smaller riblets anterior to the umbones.[2]