Mya truncata facts for kids
The blunt gaper or truncate softshell (scientific name: Mya truncata) is a type of edible saltwater clam. It's a bivalve mollusk, which means it's a sea creature with two shells. You can find these clams living in the ocean.
Quick facts for kids Mya truncata |
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| Shell of Mya truncata, on display at the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano | |
| Scientific classification | |
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Mya
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| Species: |
truncata
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Contents
What Does the Blunt Gaper Look Like?
The shells of Mya truncata can grow to be about 2.5 to 7.5 centimeters (1 to 3 inches) long. These clams are similar to other soft-shell clams, but they are usually a bit smaller. Their shells are also less stretched out.
Shell Features
The front part of their shells is rounded. The back part looks like it's cut off, which is why they are called "blunt." This cut-off part has a large opening. A long, stretchy tube called a siphon comes out of this opening. This siphon can be four times longer than the shell itself! The clam can pull its siphon all the way back inside its shell.
Each clam has two shells, called valves. They are shaped like triangles and are curved. The right shell is usually more curved than the left one. The siphon is covered by a tough, horn-like skin. It also has small feelers at its end.
Shell Surface and Color
The outside of the shells has lines that show how the clam has grown over time. The shells are usually whitish. The very outer layer of the shell, called the periostracum, can be yellowish, light olive, or dark brown.
Inside the left shell, there's a spoon-shaped part where the shell's hinges are attached. The clam also has a deep, wide mark inside its shell called the pallial sinus. This mark shows where the clam's muscles were attached.
Life Cycle and Diet
How Blunt Gapers Reproduce
Blunt gaper clams reproduce sexually. Both male and female clams release their reproductive cells, called gametes, into the water. After they combine, tiny clam larvae grow. These young larvae then attach themselves to rocks to continue growing. Sometimes, the clams might not reproduce at all in certain years.
What Blunt Gapers Eat
These clams get their food by filtering seawater. They suck in water and filter out tiny bits of food. This includes small bacteria, tiny plant-like organisms called diatoms, and even the larvae of other sea creatures.
Who Eats Blunt Gapers?
Blunt gaper clams are a very important food source for walruses. Walruses use their tusks to dig through the mud on the seafloor. They then sift through the mud to find and eat these clams.
Where Blunt Gapers Live
This type of clam is found in many cold waters around the world. They live in the Arctic seas and can be found as far south as the Bay of Biscay in Europe. They also live along the West Atlantic coast and near Sakhalin on the Pacific coast. Some have even been seen in the waters around Japan.
Mya truncata clams live from the shallow parts of the shore down to depths of about 70 meters (230 feet). They like to burrow into sand or muddy sand on the seafloor.
Gallery
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Shell of Mya truncata from North Wales
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Whole animal and left valve of the shell, from the North Sea
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Mya truncata : a) foot b) siphon sheath c) exhalant siphon d) inhalant siphon e) umbones or beaks f) anterior g) posterior end of the shell
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Shells of Mya truncata in subrecent sediments on the coast of Spitsbergen.
