Lithophaga
Genus of bivalves
Lithophaga, the date mussels, are a genus of medium-sized marine bivalve molluscs in the family Mytilidae. Some of the earliest fossil Lithophaga shells have been found in Mesozoic rocks from the Alps and from Vancouver Island.
The shells of species in this genus are long and narrow with parallel sides. The animals bore into stone or coral rock with the help of pallial gland secretions, hence the systematic name Lithophaga, which means "stone-eater". Their club-shaped borings are given the trace fossil name Gastrochaenolites.
01Species
Species within the genus Lithophaga include:
- Lithophaga antillarum (d'Orbigny, 1842) - giant date mussel
- Lithophaga aristata (Dillwyn, 1817) - scissor date mussel
- Lithophaga attenuata (Deshayes, 1836) - attenuated date mussel
- Lithophaga balanas Dall
- Lithophaga balanus Dall
- Lithophaga bisulcata (d'Orbigny, 1842) - mahogany date mussel
- Lithophaga cardigera
- Lithophaga cavernosa
- Lithophaga cinnamomeus
- Lithophaga dactylus
- Lithophaga fasciola Dall, Bartsch, & Rehder
- Lithophaga gracilis Philippi
- Lithophaga hawaia Dall, Bartsch, & Rehder
- Lithophaga ilabis (Deshayes)
- Lithophaga lithophaga (Linne)
- Lithophaga nigra (d'Orbigny, 1842) - black date mussel
- Lithophaga plumula (Hanley, 1844) - feather date mussel
- Lithophaga punctata (Kleemann & Hoeksema, 2002)
- Lithophaga rogersi S. S. Berry, 1957 - Roger's date mussel
- Lithophaga truncata (Gray, 1843)
- Lithophaga simplex
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Lithophaga”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Zelithophaga truncata.jpg by GrahamBould, Public domain
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