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Arctica islandica

From Wikipedia, in a visual modern way
Ocean quahog
Arctica islandica valves.jpg
A shell of Arctica islandica with the valves separated
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Bivalvia
Order: Venerida
Superfamily: Arcticoidea
Family: Arcticidae
Genus: Arctica
Species:
A. islandica
Binomial name
Arctica islandica
Linnaeus, 1767
The dark periostracum is flaking off this dried valve of Arctica islandica from Wales
The dark periostracum is flaking off this dried valve of Arctica islandica from Wales

The ocean quahog (Arctica islandica) is a species of edible clam, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Arcticidae. This species is native to the North Atlantic Ocean, and it is harvested commercially as a food source. This species is also known by a number of different common names, including Icelandic cyprine,[1] mahogany clam, mahogany quahog, black quahog, and black clam.[2]

The typical Arctica islandica resembles the quahog, but the shell of the ocean quahog is rounder, the periostracum is usually black, and on the interior of the shell, the pallial line has no indentation, or sinus. Unlike the quahog, which lives intertidally and can be collected by clam digging, this species lives subtidally, and can only be collected by dredging. They grow to sizes exceeding 50 mm or two inches shell height.[3] An individual specimen was reported to have lived 507 years, making it the longest-lived non-colonial metazoan whose age was accurately known.[4]

Discover more about Arctica islandica related topics

Clam

Clam

Clam is a common name for several kinds of bivalve molluscs. The word is often applied only to those that are edible and live as infauna, spending most of their lives halfway buried in the sand of the seafloor or riverbeds. Clams have two shells of equal size connected by two adductor muscles and have a powerful burrowing foot. They live in both freshwater and marine environments; in salt water they prefer to burrow down into the mud and the turbidity of the water required varies with species and location; the greatest diversity of these is in North America.

Arcticidae

Arcticidae

The Arcticidae are a family of marine clams in the order Venerida. The only living species in the family is Arctica islandica. There are also many fossil species classified in a number of genera.

Common name

Common name

In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrasted with the scientific name for the same organism, which is Latinized. A common name is sometimes frequently used, but that is not always the case.

Hard clam

Hard clam

The hard clam, also known as the round clam, hard-shell clam, or the quahog, is an edible marine bivalve mollusk that is native to the eastern shores of North America and Central America from Prince Edward Island to the Yucatán Peninsula. It is one of many unrelated edible bivalves that in the United States are frequently referred to simply as clams. Older literature sources may use the systematic name Venus mercenaria; this species is in the family Veneridae, the venus clams.

Periostracum

Periostracum

The periostracum is a thin, organic coating that is the outermost layer of the shell of many shelled animals, including molluscs and brachiopods. Among molluscs, it is primarily seen in snails and clams, i.e. in gastropods and bivalves, but it is also found in cephalopods such as Allonautilus scrobiculatus. The periostracum is an integral part of the shell, and it forms as the shell forms, along with the other shell layers. The periostracum is used to protect the organism from corrosion.

Pallial line

Pallial line

The pallial line is a mark on the interior of each valve of the shell of a bivalve mollusk. This line shows where all of the mantle muscles were attached in life. In clams with two adductor muscles the pallial line usually joins the marks known as adductor muscle scars, which are where the adductor muscles attach.

Pallial sinus

Pallial sinus

The pallial sinus is an indentation or inward bending in the pallial line on the interior of a bivalve mollusk shell's valves that corresponds to the position of the siphons in those types of clams which have siphons. The position of the pallial sinus is often clearly visible as a shiny line on the inside of the bivalve shell.

Intertidal zone

Intertidal zone

The intertidal zone, also known as the foreshore, is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide. This area can include several types of habitats with various species of life, such as seastars, sea urchins, and many species of coral with regional differences in biodiversity. Sometimes it is referred to as the littoral zone or seashore, although those can be defined as a wider region.

Clam digging

Clam digging

Clam digging is a North American term for a common way to harvest clams from below the surface of the tidal sand flats or mud flats where they live. It is done both recreationally and commercially. Commercial digging in the U.S. and Canada is colloquially referred to as clamming, and is done by a clammer.

Littoral zone

Littoral zone

The littoral zone or nearshore is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark, to coastal areas that are permanently submerged — known as the foreshore — and the terms are often used interchangeably. However, the geographical meaning of littoral zone extends well beyond the intertidal zone to include all neritic waters within the bounds of continental shelves.

Fishing dredge

Fishing dredge

A fishing dredge, also known as a scallop dredge or oyster dredge, is a kind of dredge which is towed along the bottom of the sea by a fishing boat in order to collect a targeted edible bottom-dwelling species. The gear is used to fish for scallops, oysters and other species of clams, crabs, and sea cucumber. The dredge is then winched up into the boat and emptied. Dredges are also used in connection with the work of the naturalist in marine biology, notably on the Challenger Expedition.

Ming (clam)

Ming (clam)

Ming, also known as Hafrún, was an ocean quahog clam that was dredged off the coast of Iceland in 2006 and whose age was calculated by counting annual growth lines in the shell. Ming was the oldest individual (non-colonial) animal ever discovered whose age could be precisely determined.

Life cycle and longevity

Arctica Islandica shows slower growth rate than other species of clams, it takes an average rate of 4 days for birth (embryo to larvae stage). Furthermore, it takes an average of 5.8 years for A. Islandica to reach maturity; at this point the somatic costs start going down. Dynamic Energy Models (DEM) predict that Arctica islandica's extreme longevity arises from lowered somatic maintenance costs and a low aging acceleration.[5] For individuals in populations in cold areas the growth rate is probably further slowed because growth only occurs in summer.[6] This slow life style results in exceptional longevity with a highest reported age, for Ming the clam, of 507 years. This makes it the longest living non-colonial metazoan species with an authenticated lifespan.[4][7][8] It is unknown how long it could have lived if it had not been collected alive by an expedition in 2006.

This characteristic has proven useful in the science of sclerochronology, the study of periodic physical and chemical features in the hard tissues of animals that grow by accretion, and is especially valuable for modeling of paleoclimates. In 1868 one specimen, collected alive near Iceland, was 374 years old. The study of its growth rate and the oxygen isotope data showed that it had a highly variable growth at the peak of the Little Ice Age around 1550–1620 and mild climate near its end around 1765–1780 and had recorded the volcanic eruption of Mount Tambora in 1815.[9]

One study found that in animals aged 4–192 years, antioxidant enzymes declined rapidly in the first 25 years, which includes the growth and sexual maturity stages, but afterwards remained stable for over 150 years. Though more detailed studies are warranted, it appears this species is a case of negligible senescence.[10] In contrast to the exceptionally long-lived populations in relatively deep, cold parts of its range, more southern populations that experience greater seasonal variations in salinity and temperature are typically far shorter-lived. For example, A. islandica from the German Bay of Kiel typically only reach an age of about 30 years and those from the German Bight about 150.[11]

Discover more about Life cycle and longevity related topics

Ming (clam)

Ming (clam)

Ming, also known as Hafrún, was an ocean quahog clam that was dredged off the coast of Iceland in 2006 and whose age was calculated by counting annual growth lines in the shell. Ming was the oldest individual (non-colonial) animal ever discovered whose age could be precisely determined.

Sclerochronology

Sclerochronology

Sclerochronology is the study of periodic physical and chemical features in the hard tissues of animals that grow by accretion, including invertebrates and coralline red algae, and the temporal context in which they formed. It is particularly useful in the study of marine paleoclimatology. The term was coined in 1974 following pioneering work on nuclear test atolls by Knutson and Buddemeier and comes from the three Greek words skleros (hard), chronos (time) and logos (science), which together refer to the use of the hard parts of living organisms to order events in time. It is, therefore, a form of stratigraphy. Sclerochronology focuses primarily upon growth patterns reflecting annual, monthly, fortnightly, tidal, daily, and sub-daily (ultradian) increments of time.

Iceland

Iceland

Iceland is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which is home to about 36% of the population. Iceland is the largest part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge that rises above sea level, and its central volcanic plateau is erupting almost constantly. The interior consists of a plateau characterised by sand and lava fields, mountains, and glaciers, and many glacial rivers flow to the sea through the lowlands. Iceland is warmed by the Gulf Stream and has a temperate climate, despite a high latitude just outside the Arctic Circle. Its high latitude and marine influence keep summers chilly, and most of its islands have a polar climate.

Little Ice Age

Little Ice Age

The Little Ice Age (LIA) was a period of regional cooling, particularly pronounced in the North Atlantic region. It was not a true ice age of global extent. The term was introduced into scientific literature by François E. Matthes in 1939. The period has been conventionally defined as extending from the 16th to the 19th centuries, but some experts prefer an alternative timespan from about 1300 to about 1850.

Mount Tambora

Mount Tambora

Mount Tambora, or Tomboro, is an active stratovolcano in West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Located on Sumbawa in the Lesser Sunda Islands, it was formed by the active subduction zones beneath it. Before 1815, its elevation reached more than 4,300 metres high, making it one of the tallest peaks in the Indonesian archipelago.

Negligible senescence

Negligible senescence

Negligible senescence is a term coined by biogerontologist Caleb Finch to denote organisms that do not exhibit evidence of biological aging (senescence), such as measurable reductions in their reproductive capability, measurable functional decline, or rising death rates with age. There are many species where scientists have seen no increase in mortality after maturity. This may mean that the lifespan of the organism is so long that researchers' subjects have not yet lived up to the time when a measure of the species' longevity can be made. Turtles, for example, were once thought to lack senescence, but more extensive observations have found evidence of decreasing fitness with age.

Bay of Kiel

Bay of Kiel

The Bay of Kiel or Kiel Bay is a bay in the southwestern Baltic Sea, off the shores of Schleswig-Holstein in Germany and the islands of Denmark. It is connected with the Bay of Mecklenburg in the east, the Little Belt in the northwest, and the Great Belt in the North.

German Bight

German Bight

The German Bight is the southeastern bight of the North Sea bounded by the Netherlands and Germany to the south, and Denmark and Germany to the east. To the north and west it is limited by the Dogger Bank. The Bight contains the Frisian and Danish Islands. The Wadden Sea is approximately ten to twelve kilometres wide at the location of the German Bight. The Frisian islands and the nearby coastal areas are collectively known as Frisia. The southern portion of the bight is also known as the Heligoland Bight. Between 1949 and 1956 the BBC Sea Area Forecast used "Heligoland" as the designation for the area now referred to as German Bight.

Feeding ecology

Like other clam species, Arctica islandica is a filter feeder. Feeding activity appears regulated by light levels, which can be used as a proxy for food availability. This means that at the northern extreme of the distribution, feeding is concentrated during eight months of the year, while during the rest of the year the clams only feed for a few days a month.[6]

Source: "Arctica islandica", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, March 27th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctica_islandica.

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Further Reading

Clam

Benthos

Bivalvia

Geoduck

Cold seep

Giant clam

Soft-shell clam

Hard clam

Mercenaria

Ming (clam)

Arcticidae

Negligible senescence

Lutraria lutraria

Teredo (bivalve)

List of edible molluscs
See also
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Arctica islandica.
Notes
  1. ^ Sabatini, M. & Pizzola, P.F., 2007. Arctica islandica. Icelandic cyprine. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 14 September 2007]. Available from: http://www.marlin.ac.uk/species/Arcticaislandica.htm>
  2. ^ Hackney, Cameron R.; Thomas E. Rippen (2000). "The Molluscan Shellfish Industry". In Roy E. Martin; Emily Paine Carter Jr.; George J. Flick; Lynn M. Davis (eds.). Marine and Freshwater Products Handbook. CRC Press. pp. 323–324. ISBN 1-56676-889-6.
  3. ^ R. Witbaard; M.J.N. Bergman (2003). "The distribution and population structure of the bivalve Arctica islandica L. in the North Sea: what possible factors are involved?" (PDF). Journal of Sea Research. 50 (1): 11–25. Bibcode:2003JSR....50...11W. doi:10.1016/s1385-1101(03)00039-x. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-09-28.
  4. ^ a b Butler, P.; Wanamaker, A. Jr.; Scourse, J.; Richardson, C.; Reynolds, D. (2013). "Variability of marine climate on the North Icelandic Shelf in a 1357-year proxy archive based on growth increments in the bivalve Arctica islandica". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 373: 141–51. Bibcode:2013PPP...373..141B. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2012.01.016.
  5. ^ Ballesta-Artero, Irene; Augustine, Starrlight; Witbaard, Rob; Carroll, Michael L.; Mette, Madelyn J.; Wanamaker Alan, D.; Van Der Meer, Jaap (January 2019). "Energetics of the extremely long-living bivalve Arctica islandica based on a Dynamic Energy Budget model" (PDF). Journal of Sea Research. 143: 173–182. Bibcode:2019JSR...143..173B. doi:10.1016/j.seares.2018.09.016. S2CID 92037627.
  6. ^ a b Ballesta-Artero, Irene; Witbaard, Rob; Carroll, Michael L.; van der Meer, Jaap (2017). "Environmental factors regulating gaping activity of the bivalve Arctica islandica in Northern Norway". Marine Biology. 164 (5): 116. doi:10.1007/s00227-017-3144-7. PMC 5409809. PMID 28546647.
  7. ^ Butler, P.G. (2012). "Clam shells, climate change and ageing: The mollusc that had 500 birthdays" (PDF). Catalyst Secondary School Review. 23 (1): 6–8.
  8. ^ Bulter, P.; et al. (2012). "Characterising the microstructure of Arctica islandica shells using NanoSIMS and EBSD" (PDF). Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems. 13 (4): Q04002. Bibcode:2012GGG....13.4002K. doi:10.1029/2011GC003961.
  9. ^ Schone, B.R.; et al. (2005). "Climate records from a bivalved Methuselah (Arctica islandica, Mollusca; Iceland)". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 228 (1–2): 130–148. Bibcode:2005PPP...228..130S. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2005.03.049.
  10. ^ "Ocean quahog clam (Arctica islandica) longevity, ageing, and life history".
  11. ^ Strahl, Julia (2011). Life strategies in the long-lived bivalve Arctica islandica on a latitudinal climate gradient – Environmental constraints and evolutionary adaptations. Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, University of Bremen.
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