Limatula hodgsoni | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Mollusca |
Class: | Bivalvia |
Order: | Limida |
Family: | Limidae |
Genus: | Limatula |
Species: | L. hodgsoni
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Binomial name | |
Limatula hodgsoni (E. A. Smith, 1907)
[1]
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Synonyms | |
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Limatula hodgsoni is a species of bivalve mollusc in the family Limidae, the file shells or file clams. It is native to the seas around Antarctica.
Limatula hodgsoni grows to a length of 27 mm (1.1 in), a height of 35 mm (1.4 in) and a diameter of 20 mm (0.8 in). The shell is white, oblong, thin, narrow above and somewhat convex; the posterior side is less curved than the anterior. The umbones are central and the ligament area is narrow and diamond-shaped. The valves are sculpted by 30 to 35 squamate ribs separated by grooves slightly narrower than the ribs. The ribs are finely marked by the annual growth lines. [2]
Limatula hodgsoni is found on the seabed of the waters around Antarctica at depths down to at least 769 m (2,500 ft). [2] It is very common in the zone deeper than 33 m (110 ft) which is the lower limit for anchor ice formation. In some areas, this zone is characterised by a layer of sponge spicules and dead mollusc shells a metre or more thick, overgrown by living sponges. This matrix is a biodiverse habitat rich in sea anemones, polychaete worms, hydroids, bryozoans and molluscs. [3] Limatula hodgsoni is the most abundant bivalve mollusc in this habitat and is preyed on by the starfishes Odontaster validus and Diplasterias brucei. [4]