Biodiversity & Conservation

A brachiopod - Terebratulina retusa - General information

Terebratulina retusa

Image Keith Hiscock - Terebratulina retusa amongst Antedon bifida arms at Loch Duich, West Scotland. Image width ca XX cm.
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Distribution map

Terebratulina retusa 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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Terebratulina retusa is not listed under any importance categories.

General information

Key Icon Researched by: Sonia Rowley Text page icon Refereed by:

Taxonomy icon Taxonomy

Phylum Brachiopoda Lamp shells
Class Rhynchonellata
Map icon Recorded distribution in Britain and Ireland This deep water species is likely to be under recorded but has been recorded on the west coasts of Scotland and Ireland. Also recorded to the south of the Isle of Man. No records have been found off the east coast of England.
Habitat information icon Habitat information This species can be found on vertical rock faces and coarse substrata. It can also be attached to the horse mussel Modiolus modiolus, hydroids and associated with deep water coral reefs. This is a sublittoral species found from 15 to >1500 meters depth.
Text page icon Description Terebratulina retusa is a plump, almost pear-shaped brachiopod up to 3.3 cm long and 2.5 cm wide. Characteristic of this phyla, the convex valves are inequivalve with the lower valve more convex than the upper valve. The upper valve tapers posteriorly and the lower valve has a large foramen close to the hinge. The cuticle-covered stalk (pedicle) extends from the foramen and attaches the animal to the substrata. The surface of both valves has distinct central growth lines and ca 11-14 numerous, coarse, ribs that radiate outwards from the hinge-line to the anterior edges of the valves. The ribs also form smooth rounded tubercles on the lateral margins towards the hinge but are more prominent on the lower umbo. The anterior margin of the shell can be rounded, straight or slightly concave. This species has a whitish or yellow shell but may be orange (in females) or cream (in males) during the breeding season due to the colour of the ripe gonads. The shells of live individuals are covered in a spongy, protein-rich layer.

This review can be cited as follows:

Sonia Rowley 2008. Terebratulina retusa. A brachiopod. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 03/09/2010]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesfullreview.php?speciesID=4444>