Modiolus aequalis

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.

Taxonomy

[ Back to top ]

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: Modiolus ()
        Specific name: aequalis - Lamarck 1799
        Scientific name: - Modiolus aequalis

Similar Species

[ Back to top ]

Members of the genus Modiolus

There are approximately 137 species in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:

M. adriaticus · M. adriaticus ovalis · M. aequalis · M. agglutinans · M. agripetus · M. albicostata · M. albicostatus · M. albicostus · M. ameghinoi · M. americana · M. americanus (American Horsemussel) · M. aratus · M. arborescens · M. arcuatula · M. areolatus · M. auriculatus · M. aurum · M. ausiensis · M. australis · M. barbatellus · M. barbatus (Bearded Horse Mussel) · M. bipartitus · M. brasiliensis · M. braziliensis · M. bukharensis · M. capax (Fat Horsemussel) · M. capitatus · M. carpenteri (California Horsemussel) · M. carvalhoi · M. cercadicus · M. chejsleveemensis · M. chiesai · M. coloradoensis · M. compactus · M. comptus · M. copax · M. coralliophagus · M. cottoni · M. cylindricus · M. demissus · M. demissus granosissimus · M. difficilis · M. directus · M. ducatelli · M. ducatellii · M. eiseni (Eisen Horsemussel) · M. elegans · M. elongatus · M. falcatus · M. flavida · M. flavidus · M. fornicatus · M. fusca · M. gabbi subconvexus · M. hanleyi · M. hannonicus · M. harrimani · M. hillana · M. hillanus · M. hoernesi · M. imbricatus · M. incrassatus · M. klipsteini · M. leckenbyi · M. ligneus · M. lithophaga · M. maedae · M. martorelli · M. matris · M. meeki · M. metcalfei · M. metcalfi · M. micropterus · M. minimus · M. minutus · M. modiolus (Kurile Horsemussel) · M. modiolus difficilis · M. modiolus modiolus · M. modiolus squamosus · M. multiradiatus · M. neglectus (Neglected Horsemussel) · M. neozelandic · M. neozelanicus · M. nipponicus · M. nitens · M. ornatus · M. paroni · M. patagonicus · M. peasi · M. peronianus · M. phaseolina · M. phaseolinus · M. philippinarum · M. plicatulus · M. plicatus · M. plumescens · M. politus · M. proclivis · M. pseudotulipus · M. pulex

More Info

[ Back to top ]

Search for Pictures: images.google.com
Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books

Notes

[ Back to top ]

Contributors

Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed November 18, 2007. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 2 providers.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 18, 2007:

Marine Science Institute, UCSB, Paleobiology Database

Identifiers

Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 16434713
Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 2242299