Biodiversity & Conservation

A cockle - Parvicardium ovale

Parvicardium ovale

Image National Museum Wales - External view of Parvicardium ovale valve. Image width ca 1.5 cm.
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Distribution map

Parvicardium ovale 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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Parvicardium ovale is not listed under any importance categories.

Taxonomy icon Taxonomy Taxon English term
Phylum Mollusca Snails, slugs, mussels, cockles, clams & squid
Class Bivalvia Clams, cockles, mussels, oysters, and scallops
Authority (Sowerby, 1840)
Recent synonyms Cerastoderma ovale
Map icon Recorded Distribution in Britain and Ireland Occurs on British and Irish coasts where suitable muddy, sand and gravel substrata are present.
Habitat information icon Habitat information Parvicardium ovale burrows in sublittoral muddy sand and gravel substrata at depths of 3 to 100 m.
Text page icon Description A small, yellowish-white, obliquely oval cockle up to 13 mm in length. It has 24-26 radiating ribs, anteriorly bearing blunt scales and posteriorly bearing small spines. In the middle region the ribs are smooth. The concentric ridges are poorly developed. The right shell valve has two anterior teeth and one posterior lateral tooth whilst the left valve has only one anterior tooth and one posterior lateral tooth. The margins of the valves have deep crenulations with grooves on the inner surface extending a long way in from the margin towards the beak. The inner surface is a glossy white.
Identifying features
  • Small, up to 13 mm long.
  • Between 24-26 radiating ribs.
  • Anterior ribs have scales, posterior ribs have small spines.
  • Shell yellowish-white.
  • Inner surface of shell has grooves extending some way from the margin towards the beak.
Additional information icon Additional information No text entered

This review can be cited as follows:

Susie Ballerstedt 2005. Parvicardium ovale. A cockle. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 19/06/2013]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesinformation.php?speciesID=4046>