Laternula elliptica
Authors/Creators
- 1. Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research, Biological Oceanography, Seestrasse 15, D- 18119 Rostock, Germany
- 2. Universität Rostock, Institut für Biowissenschaften, Allgemeine & Spezielle Zoologie, Universitätsplatz 2, D- 18055 Rostock, Germany
Description
25. Laternula elliptica (P. P. King, 1832) [Figs 11C–D]
Anatina elliptica P. P. King, 1832: 335
Material examined. • 1 empty double valve, Stn. 4; • 1 spm, Stn. 7; • 5 spms, Stn. 8; • 11 spms, Stn. 12; • 1 spm, Stn. 14.
Type locality. South Shetland Islands.
Bathymetric distribution. 1–508 m.
Substrate. Soft bottom.
Geographical distribution. ANTARCTICA: Circum-Antarctic. SUBANTARCTICA: Kerguelen Islands. SCOTIA ARC: South Georgia, South Sandwich Islands, South Orkney Islands, South Shetland Islands. SOUTH AMERICA: -.
Remarks. It is probably the largest species found in Antarctic waters. The species grows to over 80 mm and burrows deep into the soft bottom. Our largest specimen measured 55 mm. We found L. elliptica in depths between 15 and 70 m, but our method (dredge) was only partially suitable for scraping animals out of the sediment. The species is already known from the Maxwell and Admiralty Bays. The species reached an abundance of up to 30 individuals per square metre in depths deeper than 10 m in the neighbouring Admiralty Bay (Nonato et al. 2000). This species is always deeply buried, and only their siphons are detectable (Passos et al. 2022).
References. Rauschert (1991), Nonato et al. (2000), Troncoso et al. (2001), Engl (2012), Huber (2015), Aldea et al. (2016), Egorova (2019), Passos et al. (2022).
Notes
Files
Files
(1.9 kB)
| Name | Size | Download all |
|---|---|---|
|
md5:d6a253a71934084ddd69983fc90274f7
|
1.9 kB | Download |
System files
(14.9 kB)
| Name | Size | Download all |
|---|---|---|
|
md5:981fc921fe41e822fd26e5ca4ac630d0
|
14.9 kB | Download |
Linked records
Additional details
Identifiers
Biodiversity
- Scientific name authorship
- P. P. King
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Mollusca
- Family
- Laternulidae
- Genus
- Laternula
- Species
- elliptica
- Taxon rank
- species
- Taxonomic concept label
- Laternula elliptica (King, 1832) sec. Zettler & Bick, 2025
References
- King, P. P. (1832) Description of the Cirrhipeda, Conchifera and Mollusca, in a collection formed by the officers of H. M. S. Adventure and Beagle employed between the years 1826 and 1830 in surveying the southern coasts of South America, including the Straits of Magalhaens and the coast of Tierra del Fuego. Zoological Journal, 5 (125), 332-349.
- Nonato, E. F., Brito, T. A. S., de Paiva, P. C., Petti, M. A. V. & Corbisier, T. N. (2000) Benthic megafauna of the nearshore zone of Martel Inlet (King George Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica): depth zonation and underwater observations. Polar Biology, 23, 580-588. https://doi.org/10.1007/s003000000129
- Passos, F. D., Sartori, A. F., Domaneschi, O. & Bieler, R. (2022) Anatomy and behavior of Laternula elliptica, a keystone species of the Antarctic benthos (Bivalvia: Anomalodesmata: Laternulidae). PeerJ, 10, e 14380. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14380
- Rauschert, M. (1991) Ergebnisse der faunistischen Arbeiten im Benthal von King George Island (Sudshetlandinseln, Antarktis). Berichte zur Polarforschung, 76, 1-75. https://doi.org/10.2312/BzP_0076_1991
- Troncoso, N., van Goethem, J. L. & Troncoso, J. S. (2001) Contribution to the marine molluscan fauna of Kerguelen Islands, South Indian Ocean. Iberus, 19 (1), 83-114. [https://zenodo.org/records/4514731]
- Engl, W. (2012) Shells of Antarctica. Conchbooks, Hackenheim, 402 pp.
- Huber, M. (2015) Compendium of Bivalves 2. ConchBooks, Harxheim, 907 pp., CD-Rom.
- Aldea, C., Engl, W., Kohlberg, G., Schories, D., Schroedl, M. & Schwabe, E. (2016) Chapter " Molluscs, Mollusca " from Marine Wildlife, King George Island, Antarctica. Conchylia, 47 (1 - 2), 35-66.
- Egorova, E. N. (2019) Species of warm-water origin Laternula elliptica (King, 1832) (Mollusca: Bivalvia: Laternulidae), a widespread mollusk in recent Antarctica. The Bulletin of the Russian Far East Malacological Society [BЮЛЛitiнЬ DAЛЬнivoсtocнogo мAЛAKoЛogiciсKogo obщiсtvA], 23 (1 - 2), 82-116. [in Russian]