Tellina tenuis
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| Tellina tenuis | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Bivalvia |
| Order: | Cardiida |
| Family: | Tellinidae |
| Genus: | Tellina |
| Species: | T. tenuis |
| Binomial name | |
| Tellina tenuis da Costa, 1778 | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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Tellina tenuis, the thin tellin, is a species of marine bivalve mollusc in the family Tellinidae. It is found off the coasts of northwest Europe and in the Mediterranean Sea, where it lives buried in sandy sediments.
Bivalves are molluscs with a body compressed between two usually similar shell valves joined by an elastic ligament. There are teeth at the edge of the shell and the animal has a muscular foot, gills, siphons, mouth and gut and is surrounded by a mantle inside the shell.
The shell of T. tenuis is brittle and flattened and grows to up to nineteen millimeters in length. The outline is oval but the valves are asymmetric with the hinge slightly off centre and the beaks slightly behind the midline. The posterior of the valves is attenuated slightly and the right valve is slightly larger than the left. An olive green ligament joins the two valves. The periostracum is glossy and the colour varies through shades of pink, yellow and brown, often in bands. There is a sculpture of fine concentric lines which is grouped into growth stages and which may be emphasized by bands of colour. The inner sides of the valves are similarly coloured but paler. The mantle is fringed with tentacles and is creamy-white.[2]
Distribution
Tellina tenuis occurs off the coasts of north west Europe and Morocco and in the Mediterranean Sea and the Baltic Sea. It is found from the middle shore level to a depth of about seven metres.[2] It is widely distributed and common around the coasts of the British Isles.[3]