Macrobel

Macoma balthica (Linnaeus, 1758)
AphiaID: 141579

Classification: Biota > Animalia > Mollusca > Bivalvia > Heterodonta > Euheterodonta > Veneroida > Tellinoidea > Tellinidae > Macoma

Status

accepted

Record
status

Checked by Taxonomic Editor

Rank

Species

Parent

Macoma Leach, 1819

Sources

original description: Linnaeus, C. (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Editio decima, reformata. Laurentius Salvius: Holmiae. ii, 824 pp., available online at http://gdz.sub.uni-goettingen.de/no_cache/dms/load/toc/?IDDOC=265100 [details]

additional source: ITIS database, available online at http://www.itis.gov [details]

additional source: Backeljau, T. (1986). Lijst van de recente mariene mollusken van België [List of the recent marine molluscs of Belgium]. Koninklijk Belgisch Instituut voor Natuurwetenschappen: Brussels, Belgium. 106 pp. (look up in IMIS) [details]

Vernacular
Names

Language	Name
Dutch	gewoon nonnetje	[details]
Dutch	nonnetje	[details]
English	Baltic macoma	[details]
English	Baltic tellin	[details]
German	Baltische Tellmuschel	[details]
German	Plattmuschel	[details]
German	rote Bohne	[details]

Environment

marine

Feedingtypes

deposit feeder [details]
suspension feeder [details]

Host of

Leptinogaster histrio (Pelseneer, 1929) (parasitic: ectoparasitic)
Herrmannella rostrata Canu, 1891 (parasitic: ectoparasitic)
Mytilicola intestinalis Steuer, 1902 (parasitic: ectoparasitic)

Links

BIOTIC
Encyclopedia of Marine Life of Britain and Ireland
Marine Life Information Network - UK
To Barcode of Life (58 barcodes)
To Biodiversity Heritage Library (147 publications)
To CLEMAM
To Dyntaxa
To Encyclopedia of Life
To GenBank (125 nucleotides; 100 proteins)
To Marine Bivalves of the British Isles webpage at National Museum of Wales
To Marine Species Identification Portal
To PESI
To USNM Invertebrate Zoology Mollusca Collection
To ITIS

Notes

Description: A rather thick, broadly oval shell up to 30 mm long. The top of the shell is somewhere in the middle
of the shell. The back is slightly acuminate. The shell surface is smooth with very fine concentric
growth lines. Its colour varies: white, yellow, orange to reddish. They burrow shallowly in fine, muddy sand bottoms and feed on food particles located on top of the sediment that they manage to suck up by means of their very long, individually separated stretchable siphons. [details]

Distribution: Macoma balthica typically occurs in the coastal zone of the Belgian part of the North Sea. In the 1976-1986 period only low densities were observed (up to 10 ind./m2) whereas densities up to 170 ind./m2 were found in the 1994-2001 period. In this period the highest densities seemed to occur near the eastern coastal zone. [details]

Habitat: Macoma balthica tends to prefer very fine sediments (median grain size < 200 µm) with high mud contents (> 20%). The maximum relative occurrence (80%!) is reached in sediments with a median grain size of 0-50 µm and a mud content of 50-60%. [details]

Spelling: often spelled M. baltica [details]

Images

Picture of Macoma balthica (Linnaeus, 1758)
added on 2004-06-17 - author: Decleer, M.
qualitystatus: not checked

Macoma balthica (Linnaeus, 1758)
added on 2006-02-10 - author: Hans Hillewaert
qualitystatus: not checked

Macoma balthica (Linnaeus, 1758)
added on 2006-09-07 - author: Nuyttens, Filip
qualitystatus: not checked

Mactra corallina (Linnaeus, 1758)
added on 2006-09-07 - author: Nuyttens, Filip
qualitystatus: not checked

Nonnetje
added on 2010-10-21 - author: Decleer, Misjel
qualitystatus: not checked

Macoma balthica (Linnaeus, 1758)
added on 2010-10-21 - author: Hillewaert, Hans
qualitystatus: not checked