Description

The Rostrate Tellin shown at the right is paper thin. It was collected on the island of Honshu, Japan, in 1960, in a central location. In general, tellins have narrow, thin shells, and a wide blade-like foot. They can easily insert their foot into soft sands, and, since their body is also blade-like, they can withdraw below fast enough to escape a predator. 

 

Interestingly, tellins carry the oxygen carrying pigment, hemoglobin, in both their nerve ganglia and muscle cells. The myoglobin form of this pigment is found in muscles, giving them a bright red color. This property of assisted oxygen delivery to tissues is also found in a few other bivalves (see for example, Arcidae).

 

In contrast to most tellins, the Rasp Tellin shown below has a rather sturdy shell with a perisostracum that seems like it could serve as a rasp. 

Classification  

Class: Bivalvia

Subclass: Heterodonta

Order: Veneroida

Superfamily: Tellinacea

Family: Tellinidae

 

Major Genera  

• Genus: Apolemetus
• Genus: Gastrona
• Genus: Macoma
• Genus: Psammotreta
• Genus: Strigilla
• Genus: Tellina

Tellina scobinata (Linnaeus, 1758)
Rasp Tellin