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| Trachycardium egmontianum | |
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| A view of a valve of Trachycardium egmontianum | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Bivalvia |
| Order: | Cardiida |
| Family: | Cardiidae |
| Genus: | Trachycardium |
| Species: | T. egmontianum
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| Binomial name | |
| Trachycardium egmontianum (Shuttleworth, 1856)
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| Synonyms | |
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Trachycardium egmontianum, the Florida prickly cockle, is a species of bivalve mollusc in the family Cardiidae.
Description
[edit]
Shells of Trachycardium egmontianum can reach a size of about 50 millimetres (2.0 in). These shells are oval, with 27 to 31 strong radial ribs. Similar to other species in the genus Trachycardium, T. egmontianum has V-shaped hooks rising along the radial ribs. The external surface is whitish to tawny-gray or pale purplish, with yellow, brown or purplish paths. The glossy interior is pink, reddish or purplish.[1][2]
Distribution
[edit]This species can be found along the Atlantic coast of North America, ranging from North Carolina through Florida[3] and into the West Indies.[4]
Ecology
[edit]The distinctive V-shaped hooks found along the radial ribs of T. egmontianum make burrowing more effective in sandy substrates. This is in part due to the shape of the protrusions shifting water movement over the shell and reducing scouring.[5] The protrusions on the shell also cause asymmetry which further increases the speed at which they can burrow. As the cockle twists during burrowing, the asymmetrical protrusions hook into the sand at times, allowing for grip and glide through the sand at other times making them faster depending on the angle.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ Abbott, R. Tucker American seashells. With illus. by Frederick M. Bayer, page 397
- ^ Ruppert, Edward E.; Fox, Richard S. (1988). Seashore animals of the Southeast: a guide to common shallow-water invertebrates of the southeastern Atlantic coast. South Carolina: Univ. of South Carolina Press. ISBN 978-0-87249-535-7.
- ^ Abbott, R.T. & Morris, P.A. A Field Guide to Shells: Atlantic and Gulf Coasts and the West Indies. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1995. 56.
- ^ Stanley, Steven M (1981). ""Infaunal survival: Alternative functions of shell ornamentation in the Bivalvia (Mollusca)"". Paleobiology. 7 (3): 384–393. Bibcode:1981Pbio....7..384S. doi:10.1017/S009483730000467X. JSTOR 2400684 – via JSTOR.
- ^ Stanley, Steven M. (1981). "Infaunal Survival: Alternative Functions of Shell Ornamentation in the Bivalvia (Mollusca)". Paleobiology. 7 (3): 384–393. ISSN 0094-8373.
- ^ "Adaptive Morphology of the Shell in Bivalves and Gastropods", Form and Function, Academic Press, pp. 105–141, 1988-01-01, doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-751411-6.50012-6, retrieved 2025-11-29
- Shuttleworth, R.J. (1856). Description de nouvelles espèces. Première décade; espèces nouvelles pour la faune des Antilles. Journal de Conchyliologie. 5: 168-175, fig
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