Biodiversity & Conservation

Icelandic cyprine - Arctica islandica - General information

Arctica islandica

Image Steve Trewhella - View of top valve of Arctica islandica. Image width ca 10 cm.
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Distribution map

Arctica islandica recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

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General information

Key Icon Researched by: Marisa Sabatini, Paolo Pizzolla and Cat Wilding Text page icon Refereed by: This information is not refereed.

Taxonomy icon Taxonomy

Phylum Mollusca Snails, slugs, mussels, cockles, clams & squid
Class Bivalvia Clams, cockles, mussels, oysters, and scallops
Map icon Recorded distribution in Britain and Ireland The Icelandic cyprine is found around all British and Irish coasts and offshore.
Habitat information icon Habitat information Arctica islandica is found at extreme low water level but predominately on sub-littoral firm sediments including level offshore areas, buried (or part buried) in sand and muddy sand that ranges from fine to coarse grains.
Text page icon Description Arctica islandica has a heavy, thick, oval to rounded shell up to 13 cm in length. The shell is sculptured with numerous fine concentric lines and the beaks are anterior. It has a thick glossy periostracum that is brown in smaller individuals, becoming greenish-brown to black in larger specimens. The periostracum peels away on dead shells, revealing a white to pale brown shell beneath.

This review can be cited as follows:

Marisa Sabatini, Paolo Pizzolla and Cat Wilding 2008. Arctica islandica. Icelandic cyprine. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 22/05/2012]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesfullreview.php?speciesID=2588>