Aulacomya atra

Aulacomya atra (often misspelled Aulacomya ater), called also the Magellan mussel[2] or the ribbed mussel,[1][3] is a southern species of edible saltwater mussel, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Mytilidae, the true mussels.[1] Note that the common name ribbed mussel is also used of the Northern Hemisphere mussel Geukensia demissa.

Aulacomya atra
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Bivalvia
Order: Mytilida
Family: Mytilidae
Genus: Aulacomya
Species:
A. atra
Binomial name
Aulacomya atra
(Molina, 1782)
Synonyms

Mytilus crenatus Lamarck, 1819[1]

Aulacomya atra is native in South America - in Peru, Chile (where it grows up to 170 mm in length), the Falkland Islands and Argentina.[2] It is also found on the coasts of New Zealand and Southern Africa, from Namibia to Port Alfred, South Africa, from the intertidal to 40 m.[3] Introduced specimens have been found in Moray Firth, Scotland, Europe.[2] In Southern Africa the species grows up to 90 mm in length. It usually lives in crowded intertidal beds. Individual animals have brown ribbed shells, which darken to black with age.[4]

References
  1. Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S. (2011). Aulacomya atra (Molina, 1782). World Register of Marine Species. Accessed on 2012-4-17
  2. Magellan mussel Aulacomya ater Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Accessed 2012
  3. Branch, G.M., Branch, M.L, Griffiths, C.L. and Beckley, L.E (2005): Two Oceans: a guide to the marine life of southern Africa ISBN 0-86486-672-0
  4. Day, J.H. 1969. Marine Life on South African Shores Balkema, Cape Town
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