Thin tellin (Macomangulus tenuis)

Distribution data supplied by the Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS). To interrogate UK data visit the NBN Atlas.Map Help

Summary

Description

The shell is thin and brittle, rounded triangular in shape overall and somewhat flattened. The right valve is slightly larger than the left. The outer surface is shiny with various shades of yellow or pink both inside and outside the shell. The shell is sculptured with fine concentric lines and has a smooth margin. The right valve has two cardinal teeth, and a single anterior and posterior lateral. The left valve has two cardinal teeth and a single small posterior lateral. The pallial sinus is broadly oval with the lower edge fused with the pallial line.

Recorded distribution in Britain and Ireland

Common around Britain and Ireland.

Global distribution

Found off the Norwegian coasts to the Mediterranean and north-west coast of Africa.

Habitat

This species is found in fine sand from the middle of the shore to the shallow sublittoral. It buries to about 5-12 cm in the sand.

Depth range

-

Identifying features

  • The shell is thin and brittle.
  • Grows to about 2-3 cm in length.
  • Very attractive shades of pink and yellow.
  • Shiny in appearance.
  • Has a flattened profile.
  • The right valve has two cardinal teeth, and a single anterior and posterior lateral.
  • The left valve has two cardinal teeth and a single small posterior lateral.
  • The pallial sinus is broadly oval with the lower edge fused with the pallial line.

Additional information

This bivalve lies on the left valve buried in the first few centimeters of fine sand and is a suspension feeder. It has a long siphon that extends above the sand when feeding and young flatfishes often feed on the tips of the siphon. However, the bivalve is not killed and the siphon can grow back again.

Listed by

- none -

Further information sources

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Bibliography

  1. Christensen, J.M., 1980. Seashells. Bivalves of the British and Northern European Seas. Revised and adapted by Peter S. Dance. Hamondsworth: Penguin Books Ltd.

  2. Fish, J.D. & Fish, S., 1996. A student's guide to the seashore. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

  3. Hayward, P., Nelson-Smith, T. & Shields, C. 1996. Collins pocket guide. Sea shore of Britain and northern Europe. London: HarperCollins.

  4. Hayward, P.J. & Ryland, J.S. (ed.) 1995b. Handbook of the marine fauna of North-West Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

  5. Howson, C.M. & Picton, B.E., 1997. The species directory of the marine fauna and flora of the British Isles and surrounding seas. Belfast: Ulster Museum. [Ulster Museum publication, no. 276.]

  6. JNCC (Joint Nature Conservation Committee), 1999. Marine Environment Resource Mapping And Information Database (MERMAID): Marine Nature Conservation Review Survey Database. [on-line] http://www.jncc.gov.uk/mermaid

  7. Tebble, N., 1966. British Bivalve Seashells. A Handbook for Identification. Edinburgh: British Museum (Natural History), Her Majesty's Stationary Office.

Datasets

  1. NBN (National Biodiversity Network) Atlas. Available from: https://www.nbnatlas.org.

  2. OBIS (Ocean Biodiversity Information System),  2024. Global map of species distribution using gridded data. Available from: Ocean Biogeographic Information System. www.iobis.org. Accessed: 2024-11-25

Citation

This review can be cited as:

Carter, M.C. 2005. Macomangulus tenuis Thin tellin. In Tyler-Walters H. and Hiscock K. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Reviews, [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 25-11-2024]. Available from: https://marlin.ac.uk/species/detail/1957

Last Updated: 17/10/2005