Biodiversity & Conservation

Baltic tellin - Macoma balthica - General information

Macoma balthica

Image Dr W.J. Langston - Macoma balthica. Image width ca 20 mm.
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Distribution map

Macoma balthica recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

Why do the maps differ?

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Macoma balthica is not listed under any importance categories.

General information

Key Icon Researched by: Georgina Budd and Will Rayment Text page icon Refereed by: Dr Bill Langston

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 Common in estuarine environments around the British Isles, with the exception of the south coast.
Habitat information icon Habitat information Macoma balthica lives a few centimetres below the surface of sand, mud and muddy sand. It is found from the upper regions of the intertidal into the sublittoral, particularly in estuaries and on tidal flats.
Text page icon Description Macoma balthica is widely distributed throughout north-west Europe and Britain. It has a plump almost circular shell, up to 25 mm in length, with umbones close to the midline. The posterior of the shell may be very slightly tapered. The colour of Macoma balthica varies between pink, purple, yellow, white and may be blackened in sulphide-rich sediments. The colour is either uniform throughout the shell or in concentric bands.

This review can be cited as follows:

Georgina Budd and Will Rayment 2001. Macoma balthica. Baltic tellin. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 20/06/2013]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesfullreview.php?speciesID=3749>