Amygdalum beddomei

Description

Family Mytilidae

Scars of the anterior and posterior adductor muscles decidedly unequal (the anterior scar is the smaller one, and may be scarcely noticeable); umbones generally, but not always, much nearer the anterior end than the middle , hinge plate without teeth and without a chondrophore ; usually attached to a hard substratum by a byssus of organic threads (includes some species that bore into rock or hard clay ).Mussels are members of the molluscan Class Bivalvia along with clams and scallops . Attaching to the substrate and each other with byssal threads , mussels often form dense beds that support rich epifaunal and infaunal invertebrate assemblages . Other groups commonly associating with mussels are porifera (sponges), cnidarians (including hydroids , corals , and anemones), annelids , crustaceans, bivalves , bryozoans , and echinoderms . Mussel larvae remain in the water column for several weeks. Mussels are suspension feeders , filtering plankton and other small particles from the water column. Mussels are preyed upon by sea stars, gastropods and crabs.

Habitat

Typically found in the intertidal zone at the water's edge at a mean distance from sea level of -133 meters (-435 feet).Standard Deviation = 567.040 based on 64 observations. Terrestrial altitude and ocean depth information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre.

Taxonomy

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Domain: Eukaryota () - Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- Kingdom: Animalia () - Linnaeus, 1758 - animals
  - Subkingdom: Bilateria () - (Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983
    - Branch: Protostomia () - Grobben, 1908
      - Infrakingdom: Lophotrochozoa ()
        Superphylum: Eutrochozoa ()
        Phylum: Mollusca () - (Linnaeus, 1758) Cuvier, 1795 - Molluscs
        Class: Bivalvia () - Linnaeus, 1758 - Bivalves
        Subclass: Metabranchia ()
        Superorder: Filibranchia ()
        Order: Pteriomorpha ()
        Superfamily: Mytiloidea ()
        Family: Mytilidae () - Rafinesque, 1815 - Marine Mussels
        Genus: Amygdalum ()
        Specific name: beddomei
        Scientific name: - Amygdalum beddomei