''Anomia ephippium'' is a species of

bivalve Bivalvia () or bivalves, in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class (biology), class of aquatic animal, aquatic molluscs (marine and freshwater) that have laterally compressed soft bodies enclosed b ...

belonging to the family

Anomiidae Anomiidae is a family of saltwater clams, marine bivalve molluscs related to scallops and oysters, and known as anomiids. It contains seven genera. The family is known by several common names, including jingle shells, mermaid's toenails, and ...

Distribution

A. ephippium is found primarily in sheltered conditions in the low intertidal and sublittoral zones. They are a benthic species that lives in depths from 25-200m. They are distributed along coasts around the world. They are found on the South and West coasts of Britain, stretching North to

Shetland Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway, marking the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the ...

and are also found on all coasts of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. They are also found along the Atlantic Coasts of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

ranging from

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. Specifically within the Massachusetts region, they have commonly been found in the Woods Hole region.

Physiology

A. ephippium is commonly known as a jingle shell or saddle oyster. A. ephippium are described to have concave, semi-transparent shells of orange, yellow, and salmon-like colors. The sizes range from sizes from an inch to more across. Within the bivalve itself, a thin flat shell may be found within, located under the valve of the specimen. When living, they are commonly found attached to other shells or stones, and can also be found attached to oysters. The mechanism by which they are able to attach themselves to these surfaces is by a muscle which passes through a large hole, located in the under-valve region of the specimen. A. ephippium has a 2–3 cm large thin, brittle, translucent

shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses Science Biology * Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...

structured by foliated

calcite Calcite is a Carbonate minerals, carbonate mineral and the most stable Polymorphism (materials science), polymorph of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). It is a very common mineral, particularly as a component of limestone. Calcite defines hardness 3 on ...

. While calcitic shells are typically white, the concentrations of polyenes A. ephippium's shells give them hues ranging from white to yellow to gray to orange.

File:Anomia ephippium 01.jpg, Right valve File:Anomia ephippium 02.jpg, Left valve

var. ''radiata'', left valve File:Anomia ephippium 04.jpg, Yellow form File:Anomia ephippium 06.jpg, Orange form File:Anomia ephippium 08.jpg, Purple form

Predation and Feeding

They are a filter-feeding epifaunal species that attach to hard substrates by the byssus. ''Anomia ephippium'', along with its members of the family Anomiidae Rafinesque, attach by means of this byssus which passes through the inside of the upper left valve through a notch in its lower right valve.

Reproduction and Life Stages

While information on ''A. ephippium's'' specific reproductive strategies is unavailable because they don't have a pennis , jingle shells reproduce through spawning. During the summer, gametes are released into the water column. Fertilization takes place in the mantle cavity. Bivalvia are often gonochoric, meaning they have two distinct sexes, but some are protandric hermaphrodites meaning they can change genders throughout their growth. The life stage of ''Anomia ephippium'' begins at the embryonic stage post fertilization. The embryos then develop into trochophore larvae, which are described to be free-swimming. After the larval stage, ''Anomia ephippium'' develop into a bivalve veliger, which is of resemblance of a miniature clam''.''

References

Anomiidae Bivalves described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Bivalve-stub