''Solemya borealis'' , the boreal awning clam, is a
species of saltwater clam, a
marine
Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean.
Marine or marines may refer to:
Ocean
* Maritime (disambiguation)
* Marine art
* Marine biology
* Marine debris
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* ...
bivalve
Bivalvia (), in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of marine and freshwater molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hinged parts. As a group, bival ...
mollusc
Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is esti ...
in the
family Solemyidae
Solemyidae is a family of saltwater clams, marine protobranch bivalve mollusks in the order Solemyida.
Biology
Solemyids are remarkable in that their digestive tract is either extremely small or non-existent, and their feeding appendages are to ...
the awning clams. This species is found along the northeastern coast of North America, from
Nova Scotia to
Connecticut.
S. borealis belong to the Petrasma
subgenus
In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus.
In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between t ...
; being characterized by having an elongated oval shell with parallel ventral and dorsal margins. Individuals may reach a length of 8 to 10 cm and have a
periostracum
The periostracum ( ) is a thin, organic coating (or "skin") that is the outermost layer of the shell of many shelled animals, including molluscs and brachiopods. Among molluscs, it is primarily seen in snails and clams, i.e. in gastropods and ...
of dark brown color.
Nutritionally, S. borealis contains concentrations of
chemoautotrophic
A Chemotroph is an organism that obtains energy by the oxidation of electron donors in their environments. These molecules can be organic ( chemoorganotrophs) or inorganic (chemolithotrophs). The chemotroph designation is in contrast to phototro ...
bacteria in inner gill filaments,
symbiotically attached to the host.
[Conway, N.M., Howes, B.L., McDowell Capuzzo, J.E. ''et al.'' Characterization and site description of ''Solemya borealis'' (Bivalvia; Solemyidae), another bivalve-bacteria symbiosis. ''Marine Biology'' 112, 601–613 (1992). ]
References
Solemyidae
Bivalves of New Zealand
Bivalves described in 1818
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