Lingula reevii facts for kids

Lingula reevii is a special type of sea animal called a brachiopod. It's a bit like a clam, but it's actually different! This animal is quite rare. You can find it living in shallow, sandy areas, like the reef flats in Kaneohe Bay in Oahu, Hawaii. It also lives in places like Japan and Ambon, Indonesia.

What Does Lingula reevii Look Like?

The shell of Lingula reevii is shaped like a long oval. It's widest in the middle and gets narrower towards the ends. The sides curve out gently, and the back end comes to a sharp point.

Its shell is a bit rounded and feels smooth. The color is usually a pretty blue-green or emerald green, especially in the middle.

Inside its shell, Lingula reevii has a special feeding part called a lophophore. This is like a crown of tiny, hairy tentacles around its mouth. These tiny hairs, called cilia, create a gentle water current. This current helps bring tiny food bits, like plankton, down the tentacles and into its mouth.

How Lingula reevii Lives

Lingula reevii is an animal that eats by filtering food from the water. It lives buried straight down in sandy places. It leaves three small holes at the surface of the sand. These holes are like little breathing tubes.

If something disturbs it, Lingula reevii can quickly pull itself deeper into the sand. It does this by rapidly pulling on a special stalk called a pedicle. When it pulls itself down, the holes at the surface shrink to a slit. This animal can even burrow upwards through sand. Sometimes, it can even detach its pedicle if it needs to escape quickly.

Life Cycle and Reproduction

Lingula animals have separate sexes, meaning there are male and female individuals. They release their reproductive cells, called gametes, into the water. Outside the body, these cells join together in a process called external fertilization.

The tiny embryos then grow into free-swimming larvae. These larvae look like very tiny versions of the adult animal. While they float in the water, they start to grow their shells. As more shell material forms, the animal gets heavier. Eventually, it sinks to the bottom of the ocean. Once it's on the bottom, it starts living its adult life. There isn't a big change in shape (metamorphosis) for Lingula. These animals are thought to live for about 5 to 8 years.

Threats and Conservation

The number of Lingula reevii has dropped a lot. In the 1960s, you could find about 500 of them in one square meter. Now, you might only find 4 in the same area.

Here are the main reasons why they are in trouble:

• Habitat loss: Their homes are being damaged or changed.
• Over-collecting: Too many of them might be taken from their environment.
• Ocean pollution: Pollution in the sea and too much sand settling on them can harm them.
• Vulnerable life: They have a life cycle that makes them easily affected by changes.
• Limited areas: They only live in a few specific places, which makes them more at risk.

Because of these threats, Lingula reevii is listed as a "Species of Concern" by the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service. This means they are worried about this species and are watching it closely.