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Shell morphology in Cerastoderma spp. (Bivalvia: Cardiidae) and its significance for adaptation to tidal and non-tidal coastal habitats

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 September 2002

Stefano Mariani ,
Fabrizio Piccari  and
Elvira De Matthaeis
Stefano Mariani
Affiliation:
Department of Animal and Human Biology, University of Rome ‘La Sapienza’, Viale dell'Università 32, 00185 Rome, Italy Present address: Molecular Ecology and Fisheries Genetics Laboratory, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Hull, Hull, HU6 7RX
Fabrizio Piccari
Affiliation:
Department of Animal and Human Biology, University of Rome ‘La Sapienza’, Viale dell'Università 32, 00185 Rome, Italy
Elvira De Matthaeis
Affiliation:
Department of Animal and Human Biology, University of Rome ‘La Sapienza’, Viale dell'Università 32, 00185 Rome, Italy
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Abstract

Several morphological characteristics of the shell in cockles (genus Cerastoderma) were investigated. A significant inverse relationship between rib number and shell curve was revealed in Cerastoderma glaucum. Morphometric and meristic descriptors were correlated with some environmental factors, such as salinity and temperature. Analysis of allometry in C. glaucum and Cerastoderma edule revealed significant differences between the two species. The results are discussed from an adaptive perspective, providing possible hypotheses on the steps which might have driven the evolution of form of the studied species during the process of adaptation to coastal tidal and confined habitats.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 82 , Issue 3 , June 2002 , pp. 483 - 490
Copyright
2002 Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom

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