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Cockle (bivalve)

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Cockle
Temporal range: Late Triassic – Present[1]
Coque blanche (Cerastoderma edule).jpg
Live specimens of Cerastoderma edule from France
Scientific classification e
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Bivalvia
Order: Cardiida
Superfamily: Cardioidea
Family: Cardiidae
Lamarck, 1809
Subfamilies
Synonyms

Lymnocardiidae

A cockle is an edible marine bivalve mollusc. Although many small edible bivalves are loosely called cockles, true cockles are species in the family Cardiidae. [2]

True cockles live in sandy, sheltered beaches throughout the world. The distinctive rounded shells are bilaterally symmetrical, and are heart-shaped when viewed from the end. Numerous radial, evenly spaced ribs are a feature of the shell in most but not all genera (for an exception, see the genus Laevicardium, the egg cockles, which have very smooth shells).

The shell of a cockle is able to close completely (i.e., there is no "gap" at any point around the edge). Though the shell of a cockle may superficially resemble that of a scallop because of the ribs, cockles can be distinguished from scallops morphologically in that cockle shells lack "auricles" (triangular ear-shaped protrusions near the hinge line) and scallop shells lack a pallial sinus. Behaviorally, cockles live buried in sediment, whereas scallops either are free-living and will swim into the water column to avoid a predator, or in some cases live attached by a byssus to a substrate.

The mantle has three apertures (inhalant, exhalant, and pedal) for siphoning water and for the foot to protrude. Cockles typically burrow using the foot, and feed by filtering plankton from the surrounding water. Cockles are capable of "jumping" by bending and straightening the foot. As is the case in many bivalves, cockles display gonochorism (the sex of an individual varies according to conditions),[3] and some species reach maturity rapidly.

The common name "cockle" is also given by seafood sellers to a number of other small, edible marine bivalves which have a somewhat similar shape and sculpture, but are in other families such as the Veneridae (Venus clams) and the ark clams (Arcidae). Cockles in the family Cardiidae are sometimes referred to as "true cockles" to distinguish them from these other species.

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Bivalvia

Bivalvia

Bivalvia, in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of marine and freshwater molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hinged parts. As a group, bivalves have no head and they lack some usual molluscan organs, like the radula and the odontophore. The class includes the clams, oysters, cockles, mussels, scallops, and numerous other families that live in saltwater, as well as a number of families that live in freshwater. The majority are filter feeders. The gills have evolved into ctenidia, specialised organs for feeding and breathing. Most bivalves bury themselves in sediment, where they are relatively safe from predation. Others lie on the sea floor or attach themselves to rocks or other hard surfaces. Some bivalves, such as the scallops and file shells, can swim. The shipworms bore into wood, clay, or stone and live inside these substances.

Genus

Genus

Genus is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial species name for each species within the genus.E.g. Panthera leo (lion) and Panthera onca (jaguar) are two species within the genus Panthera. Panthera is a genus within the family Felidae.

Laevicardium

Laevicardium

Laevicardium, common name "egg cockles", is a genus of saltwater clams or cockles, marine bivalve molluscs in the family Cardiidae, the cockles. They are unusual among the cockles in that they have smooth, rounded, "egg-like" valves.

Scallop

Scallop

Scallop is a common name that encompasses various species of marine bivalve mollusks in the taxonomic family Pectinidae, the scallops. However, the common name "scallop" is also sometimes applied to species in other closely related families within the superfamily Pectinoidea, which also includes the thorny oysters.

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.

Byssus

Byssus

A byssus is a bundle of filaments secreted by many species of bivalve mollusc that function to attach the mollusc to a solid surface. Species from several families of clams have a byssus, including pen shells (Pinnidae), true mussels (Mytilidae), and Dreissenidae.

Substrate (biology)

Substrate (biology)

In biology, a substrate is the surface on which an organism lives. A substrate can include biotic or abiotic materials and animals. For example, encrusting algae that lives on a rock can be itself a substrate for an animal that lives on top of the algae. Inert substrates are used as growing support materials in the hydroponic cultivation of plants. In biology substrates are often activated by the nanoscopic process of substrate presentation.

Mantle (mollusc)

Mantle (mollusc)

The mantle is a significant part of the anatomy of molluscs: it is the dorsal body wall which covers the visceral mass and usually protrudes in the form of flaps well beyond the visceral mass itself.

Plankton

Plankton

Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in water that are unable to propel themselves against a current. The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankters. In the ocean, they provide a crucial source of food to many small and large aquatic organisms, such as bivalves, fish and whales.

Gonochorism

Gonochorism

In biology, gonochorism is a sexual system where there are only two sexes and each individual organism is either male or female. The term gonochorism is usually applied in animal species, the vast majority of which are gonochoric.

Veneridae

Veneridae

The Veneridae or venerids, common name: Venus clams, are a very large family of minute to large, saltwater clams, marine bivalve molluscs. Over 500 living species of venerid bivalves are known, most of which are edible, and many of which are exploited as food sources.

Ark clam

Ark clam

Ark clam is the common name for a family of small to large-sized saltwater clams or marine bivalve molluscs in the family Arcidae. Ark clams vary both in shape and size. They number about 200 species worldwide.

Species

There are more than 205 living species of cockles, with many more fossil forms.[4]

The common cockle, (Cerastoderma edule), is widely distributed around the coastlines of Northern Europe, with a range extending west to Ireland, the Barents Sea in the north, Norway in the east, and as far south as Senegal.

The dog cockle, Glycymeris glycymeris, has a similar range and habitat to the common cockle, but is not at all closely related, being in the family Glycymerididae. The dog cockle is edible, but due to its toughness when cooked it is generally not eaten, although a process is being developed to solve this problem.[5]

The blood cockle, Tegillarca granosa (not related to the true cockles, instead in the ark clam family, Arcidae) is extensively cultured from southern Korea to Malaysia.[6]

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Common cockle

Common cockle

The common cockle is a species of edible saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Cardiidae, the cockles. It is found in waters off Europe, from Iceland in the north, south into waters off western Africa as far south as Senegal. The ribbed oval shells can reach 6 centimetres (2.4 in) across and are white, yellowish or brown in colour. The common cockle is harvested commercially and eaten in much of its range.

Northern Europe

Northern Europe

The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe Northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54°N, or may be based on other geographical factors such as climate and ecology.

Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the second-largest island of the British Isles, the third-largest in Europe, and the twentieth-largest in the world.

Barents Sea

Barents Sea

The Barents Sea is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia and divided between Norwegian and Russian territorial waters. It was known among Russians in the Middle Ages as the Murman Sea ; the current name of the sea is after the historical Dutch navigator Willem Barentsz.

Norway

Norway

Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of Norway. Bouvet Island, located in the Subantarctic, is a dependency of Norway; it also lays claims to the Antarctic territories of Peter I Island and Queen Maud Land. The capital and largest city in Norway is Oslo.

Senegal

Senegal

Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is a country in West Africa, on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. Senegal is bordered by Mauritania to the north, Mali to the east, Guinea to the southeast and Guinea-Bissau to the southwest. Senegal nearly surrounds the Gambia, a country occupying a narrow sliver of land along the banks of the Gambia River, which separates Senegal's southern region of Casamance from the rest of the country. Senegal also shares a maritime border with Cape Verde. Senegal's economic and political capital is Dakar.

Dog cockle

Dog cockle

The dog cockle or European bittersweet is a species of marine clam, a coastal bivalve mollusc of European waters.

Glycymerididae

Glycymerididae

Glycymerididae, often misspelled as Glycymeridae, common names dog cockles or bittersweets, is a worldwide family of salt water clams, marine bivalve mollusks in the order Arcida. They are related to the ark clams. This family contains 45 extant species in four genera.

Tegillarca granosa

Tegillarca granosa

Tegillarca granosa is a species of ark clam known as the blood cockle or blood clam due to the red haemoglobin liquid inside the soft tissues. It is found throughout the Indo-Pacific region from the eastern coast of South Africa northwards and eastwards to Southeast Asia, Australia, Polynesia, and up to northern Japan. It lives mainly in the intertidal zone at one to two metres water depth, burrowed down into sand or mud. Adult size is about 5 to 6 cm long and 4 to 5 cm wide.

Korea

Korea

Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea comprising its northern half and South Korea comprising its southern half. Korea consists of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and several minor islands near the peninsula. The peninsula is bordered by China (Manchuria) to the north and Russia to the northeast, across the Amrok and Duman rivers. It is separated from Japan to the southeast by the Korea Strait.

Malaysia

Malaysia

Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Malaysia. Peninsular Malaysia shares a land and maritime border with Thailand and maritime borders with Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia. East Malaysia shares land and maritime borders with Brunei and Indonesia, and a maritime border with the Philippines and Vietnam. Kuala Lumpur is the national capital, the country's largest city, and the seat of the legislative branch of the federal government. Putrajaya is the administrative center, which represents the seat of both the executive branch and the judicial branch of the federal government. With a population of over 32 million, Malaysia is the world's 45th-most populous country. The southernmost point of continental Eurasia is in Tanjung Piai. Located in the tropics, Malaysia is one of 17 megadiverse countries, home to numerous endemic species.

Genera

Genera within the family Cardiidae include:

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Acanthocardia

Acanthocardia

Acanthocardia is a genus of saltwater clams, marine bivalve molluscs in the family Cardiidae. Like most other bivalves, these mollusks are suspension feeders. This genus is present from the Upper Oligocene to the Recent.

Acrosterigma

Acrosterigma

Acrosterigma is a genus of large saltwater clams or cockles, marine bivalve mollusc in the family Cardiidae, the cockles.

Americardia

Americardia

Americardia is a genus of saltwater clams, marine bivalve molluscs in the family Cardiidae, the cockles.

Cerastoderma

Cerastoderma

Cerastoderma is a genus of marine bivalves in the family Cardiidae. It includes the common cockle Cerastoderma edule.

Clinocardium

Clinocardium

Clinocardium is a genus of marine bivalve molluscs in the family Cardiidae, the cockles. It is monotypic, being represented by the single species Clinocardium nuttallii, also known as the basket cockle or Nuttall's cockle, a large edible saltwater clam.

Corculum

Corculum

Corculum is a genus of small saltwater clams, marine bivalve molluscs in the family Cardiidae, the cockles. They maintain Symbiodinium dinoflagellates as symbionts.

Ctenocardia

Ctenocardia

Ctenocardia is a genus of bivalves within the family Cardiidae. There are currently 6 species assigned to the genus.

Dinocardium

Dinocardium

Dinocardium is a genus of large saltwater clams or cockles, marine bivalve molluscs in the family Cardiidae, the cockles. There is only one species in the genus, Dinocardium robustum, or the Atlantic giant cockle.

Fragum

Fragum

Fragum is a genus of cockles, marine bivalve molluscs in the family Cardiidae. Members of the genus have characteristic thick, sculptured shells and live buried in sand, extending their siphons to the surface to feed and breathe. They are found in the Indo-Pacific region and the Red Sea.

Fulvia (bivalve)

Fulvia (bivalve)

Fulvia is a genus of cockles, marine bivalve molluscs in the family Cardiidae. Most species are found in the Indo-Pacific and in Australian waters.

Hippopus

Hippopus

Hippopus is a genus of large tropical saltwater clams, marine bivalve molluscs in the subfamily Tridacninae, the giant clam subfamily, of the family Cardiidae.

Hypanis (bivalve)

Hypanis (bivalve)

Hypanis is a genus of bivalves belonging to the family Cardiidae.

Gallery

In cuisine and culture

Cockles are a popular type of edible shellfish in both Eastern and Western cooking. Cockles are a nutritious seafood item that is high in protein and low in fat. They also contain several essential minerals, including iron and calcium. Cockles are a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, which are beneficial for maintaining heart health.[7] They are collected by raking them from the sands at low tide. However, collecting cockles is hard work and, as seen from the Morecambe Bay disaster, in which 23 people died, can be dangerous if local tidal conditions are not carefully watched.

In England and Wales, as of 2011, people are permitted to collect 5 kg of cockles for personal use. Those wishing to collect more than this are deemed to be engaging in commercial fishing and are required to obtain a permit from the Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority.[8]

Cockles are a street food in Cambodia where it is usually steamed or boiled and served with a dipping sauce consisting of crushed peppercorns, salt and lime juice.[9]

Cockles are sold freshly cooked as a snack in the United Kingdom, particularly in those parts of the British coastline where cockles are abundant. Boiled, then seasoned with malt vinegar and white pepper, they can be bought from seafood stalls, which also often have for sale mussels, whelks, jellied eels, crabs and shrimp. Cockles are also available pickled in jars, and more recently, have been sold in sealed packets (with vinegar) containing a plastic two-pronged fork. A meal of cockles fried with bacon, served with laverbread, is known as a traditional Welsh breakfast.[10][11]

Boiled cockles (sometimes grilled) are sold at many hawker centres in Southeast Asia, and are used in laksa, char kway teow and steamboat. They are called kerang in Malay and see hum in Cantonese.

In Japan, the Japanese egg cockle (Laevicardium laevigatum) is used to create torigai sushi.

A study conducted in England in the early 1980s showed a correlation between the consumption of cockles, presumed to be incorrectly processed, and an elevated local occurrence of hepatitis.[12]

Cockles are an effective bait for a wide variety of sea fishes. The folk song "Molly Malone" is also known as "Cockles and Mussels" because the title character's sale of the two foods is referred to in the song's refrain. The shells of cockles are mentioned in the English nursery rhyme "Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary". Cockles are also eaten by the indigenous peoples of North America.[13]

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Shellfish

Shellfish

Shellfish is a colloquial and fisheries term for exoskeleton-bearing aquatic invertebrates used as food, including various species of molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish are harvested from saltwater environments, some are found in freshwater. In addition, a few species of land crabs are eaten, for example Cardisoma guanhumi in the Caribbean. Shellfish are among the most common food allergens.

Cooking

Cooking

Cooking, cookery, or culinary arts is the art, science and craft of using heat to improve the palatability, digestibility, nutrition, or safety of food. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely, from grilling food over an open fire to using electric stoves, to baking in various types of ovens, reflecting local conditions.

Omega-3 fatty acid

Omega-3 fatty acid

Omega−3 fatty acids, also called Omega-3 oils, ω−3 fatty acids or n−3 fatty acids, are polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) characterized by the presence of a double bond, three atoms away from the terminal methyl group in their chemical structure. They are widely distributed in nature, being important constituents of animal lipid metabolism, and they play an important role in the human diet and in human physiology. The three types of omega−3 fatty acids involved in human physiology are α-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). ALA can be found in plants, while DHA and EPA are found in algae and fish. Marine algae and phytoplankton are primary sources of omega−3 fatty acids. DHA and EPA accumulate in fish that eat these algae. Common sources of plant oils containing ALA include walnuts, edible seeds, and flaxseeds as well as hempseed oil, while sources of EPA and DHA include fish and fish oils, and algae oil.

Black pepper

Black pepper

Black pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about 5 mm (0.20 in) in diameter, dark red, and contains a stone which encloses a single pepper seed. Peppercorns and the ground pepper derived from them may be described simply as pepper, or more precisely as black pepper, green pepper, or white pepper.

Mussel

Mussel

Mussel is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other edible clams, which are often more or less rounded or oval.

Jellied eels

Jellied eels

Jellied eels are a traditional English dish that originated in the 18th century, primarily in the East End of London. The dish consists of chopped eels boiled in a spiced stock that is allowed to cool and set, forming a jelly. It is usually served cold.

Crab

Crab

Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the world's oceans, in freshwater, and on land, are generally covered with a thick exoskeleton, and have a single pair of pincers. They first appeared during the Jurassic Period.

Bacon

Bacon

Bacon is a type of salt-cured pork made from various cuts, typically the belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish, used as a central ingredient, or as a flavouring or accent.

Laverbread

Laverbread

Laverbread is a food product made from laver, an edible seaweed consumed mainly in Wales as part of local traditional cuisine. The seaweed is commonly found around the west coast of Great Britain, and the coasts of Ireland, where it is known as sleabhac. It is smooth in texture and forms delicate, sheetlike thalli, often clinging to rocks. The principal variety is Porphyra umbilicalis. Porphyra is classified as red algae; it tends to be a brownish colour, but boils down to a dark green pulp when prepared. Laver seaweed has a high content of dietary minerals, particularly iodine and iron. The high iodine content gives the seaweed a distinctive flavour in common with olives and oysters.

Hawker centre

Hawker centre

A hawker centre or cooked food centre is an open-air complex commonly found in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. They were built to provide a more sanitary alternative to mobile hawker carts and contain many stalls that sell different varieties of affordable meals. Dedicated tables and chairs are usually provided for diners.

Laksa

Laksa

Laksa is a spicy noodle dish popular in Southeast Asia. Laksa consists of various types of noodles, most commonly thick rice noodles, with toppings such as chicken, prawn or fish. Most variations of laksa are prepared with a rich and spicy coconut soup or a broth seasoned with sour asam.

Char kway teow

Char kway teow

Char kway teow is a stir-fried rice noodle dish from Maritime Southeast Asia of southern Chinese origin. In Hokkien and Teochew, char means 'stir-fried' and kway teow refers to flat rice noodles. It is made from flat rice noodles or kway teow of approximately 1 cm or about 0.5 cm in width, stir-fried over very high heat with garlic, light and dark soy sauce, chilli paste, whole prawns, shelled blood cockles, chopped Chinese chives, slices of Chinese sausage, and bean sprouts. Other common ingredients include fishcake and belachan.

Alternative meanings

The common English phrase "it warms the cockles of my heart", is used to mean that a feeling of deep-seated contentment has been generated.

Differing derivations of this phrase have been proposed, either directly from the perceived heart-shape of a cockleshell, or indirectly (the scientific name for the type genus of the family is Cardium, from the Latin for heart), or from the Latin diminutive of the word heart, corculum. Another proposed derivation is from the Latin for the ventricles of the heart, cochleae cordis, where the second word is an inflected form of cor, heart, while cochlea is the Latin for snail.

Source: "Cockle (bivalve)", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, March 20th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cockle_(bivalve).

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References
  1. ^ Schneider, Jay A. (1995). "Phylogeny of the Cardiidae (Mollusca, Bivalvia): Protocardiinae, Laevicardiinae, Lahilliinae, Tulongocardiinae subfam. n. and Pleuriocardiinae subfam. n.". Zoologica Scripta. Wiley-Blackwell. 24 (4): 321–346. doi:10.1111/j.1463-6409.1995.tb00478.x. ISSN 0300-3256. S2CID 86183611.
  2. ^ MolluscaBase eds. (2022). MolluscaBase. Cardiidae Lamarck, 1809. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=229 on 2022-02-09
  3. ^ "Synthesis on biology of Common European Cockle (Cerastoderma edule" (PDF). Reservebaiedesaintbrieuc.com. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  4. ^ "Cardiidae (Cockles)". Shells.tricity.wsu.edu. Archived from the original on 4 March 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  5. ^ {\phi_s}. "European Food Research and Technology, Volume 210, Number 1". SpringerLink. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  6. ^ "Status of mollusc culture in selected Asian countries". Fao.org. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  7. ^ "Cockle". Husfarm. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  8. ^ "Cocklers barred from Ribble estuary after coastguard checks". BBC News. 1 November 2011. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
  9. ^ Kraig, B.; Sen, C.T. (2013). Street Food Around the World: An Encyclopedia of Food and Culture. ABC-CLIO. p. 454. ISBN 978-1-59884-955-4. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  10. ^ Welsh Government. "Wales.com – Food". Government of Wales. Archived from the original on 1 June 2012. Retrieved 24 November 2021. Laverbread, not actually bread at all but seaweed, is rolled in oatmeal, fried into crisp patties and served with eggs, bacon and fresh cockles for a traditional Welsh breakfast.
  11. ^ "Swansea breakfast recipe - a treat with the taste of the coast". VisitWales. Retrieved 24 November 2021. Swansea breakfast recipe - a treat with the taste of the coast: There's nothing like the smell of cockles and laverbread sizzling away in a pan to bring the essence of the Welsh coast directly to you, wherever you might be.
  12. ^ O'Mahony MC, Gooch CD, Smyth DA, Thrussell AJ, Bartlett CL, Noah ND (1983). "Epidemic hepatitis A from cockles". Drug Metabolism and Disposition: The Biological Fate of Chemicals. NIH. 3 (6): 479–86. PMID 1222. Retrieved 25 March 2006.
  13. ^ Butler, Robert William (1997). Great Blue Heron. UBC Press. ISBN 9780774806343.
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