Lithophaga
Genus of bivalves
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lithophaga, the date mussels, are a genus of medium-sized marine bivalve molluscs in the family Mytilidae. Some of the earliest fossil Lithophaga shells have been found in Mesozoic rocks from the Alps and from Vancouver Island.[2][3]
| Lithophaga Temporal range: Triassic to Recent | |
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| One valve of a shell of Lithophaga truncata | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Bivalvia |
| Order: | Mytilida |
| Family: | Mytilidae |
| Genus: | Lithophaga Röding, 1798 |
| Species | |
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See text | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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The shells of species in this genus are long and narrow with parallel sides. The animals bore into stone or coral rock with the help of pallial gland secretions,[4] hence the systematic name Lithophaga, which means "stone-eater". Their club-shaped borings are given the trace fossil name Gastrochaenolites.[3]
Species
Species within the genus Lithophaga include:
- Lithophaga antillarum (d'Orbigny, 1842) - giant date mussel
- Lithophaga aristata (Dillwyn, 1817) - scissor date mussel
- Lithophaga attenuata (Deshayes, 1836) - attenuated date mussel
- Lithophaga balanas Dall
- Lithophaga balanus Dall
- Lithophaga bisulcata (d'Orbigny, 1842) - mahogany date mussel
- Lithophaga cardigera
- Lithophaga cavernosa
- Lithophaga cinnamomeus
- Lithophaga dactylus
- Lithophaga fasciola Dall, Bartsch, & Rehder
- Lithophaga gracilis Philippi
- Lithophaga hawaia Dall, Bartsch, & Rehder
- Lithophaga ilabis (Deshayes)
- Lithophaga lithophaga (Linne)
- Lithophaga nigra (d'Orbigny, 1842) - black date mussel
- Lithophaga plumula (Hanley, 1844) - feather date mussel
- Lithophaga punctata (Kleemann & Hoeksema, 2002)
- Lithophaga rogersi S. S. Berry, 1957 - Roger's date mussel
- Lithophaga truncata (Gray, 1843)
- Lithophaga simplex
