Two-toothed Montagu shell (Kurtiella bidentata)

Distribution data supplied by the Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS). To interrogate UK data visit the NBN Atlas.Map Help

Summary

Description

A very small commensal bivalve, up to 3 mm in length. The shell is slightly oval in shape with a smooth margin. The umbones are posterior to the mid-line. The shell is white or translucent with a light brown or olive periostracum. Each valve has a single anterior and single posterior lateral tooth. The sculpture of the shells consisits of fine concentric lines.

Recorded distribution in Britain and Ireland

Widespread around the British Isles but with very few records from Ireland.

Global distribution

Its distribution ranges from Norway to west Africa and the Mediterranean.

Habitat

Lives in muddy sand or fine gravel, in crevices of dead oyster valves, in the burrows of the sipunculid Golfingia, or associated with the brittlestar Amphiura brachiata.

Depth range

-

Identifying features

  • Very small (about 3 mm long).
  • Slightly oval in shape.
  • Light brown periostracum.
  • Closely associated with the brittlestar Amphiura brachiata. The pallial line is wide.

Additional information

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Listed by

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Further information sources

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Bibliography

  1. Christensen, J.M., 1980. Seashells. Bivalves of the British and Northern European Seas. Revised and adapted by Peter S. Dance. Hamondsworth: Penguin Books Ltd.

  2. Hayward, P.J. & Ryland, J.S. (ed.) 1995b. Handbook of the marine fauna of North-West Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

  3. Howson, C.M. & Picton, B.E., 1997. The species directory of the marine fauna and flora of the British Isles and surrounding seas. Belfast: Ulster Museum. [Ulster Museum publication, no. 276.]

  4. JNCC (Joint Nature Conservation Committee), 1999. Marine Environment Resource Mapping And Information Database (MERMAID): Marine Nature Conservation Review Survey Database. [on-line] http://www.jncc.gov.uk/mermaid

  5. Picton, B.E. & Costello, M.J., 1998. BioMar biotope viewer: a guide to marine habitats, fauna and flora of Britain and Ireland. [CD-ROM] Environmental Sciences Unit, Trinity College, Dublin.

  6. Tebble, N., 1966. British Bivalve Seashells. A Handbook for Identification. Edinburgh: British Museum (Natural History), Her Majesty's Stationary Office.

Datasets

  1. Centre for Environmental Data and Recording, 2018. Ulster Museum Marine Surveys of Northern Ireland Coastal Waters. Occurrence dataset https://www.nmni.com/CEDaR/CEDaR-Centre-for-Environmental-Data-and-Recording.aspx accessed via NBNAtlas.org on 2018-09-25.

  2. Conchological Society of Great Britain & Ireland, 2018. Mollusc (marine) data for Great Britain and Ireland - restricted access. Occurrence dataset: https://doi.org/10.15468/4bsawx accessed via GBIF.org on 2018-09-25.

  3. Conchological Society of Great Britain & Ireland, 2023. Mollusc (marine) records for Great Britain and Ireland. Occurrence dataset: https://doi.org/10.15468/aurwcz accessed via GBIF.org on 2024-09-27.

  4. Kent Wildlife Trust, 2018. Kent Wildlife Trust Shoresearch Intertidal Survey 2004 onwards. Occurrence dataset: https://www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk/ accessed via NBNAtlas.org on 2018-10-01.

  5. Merseyside BioBank., 2018. Merseyside BioBank (unverified). Occurrence dataset: https://doi.org/10.15468/iou2ld accessed via GBIF.org on 2018-10-01.

  6. National Trust, 2017. National Trust Species Records. Occurrence dataset: https://doi.org/10.15468/opc6g1 accessed via GBIF.org on 2018-10-01.

  7. NBN (National Biodiversity Network) Atlas. Available from: https://www.nbnatlas.org.

  8. Norfolk Biodiversity Information Service, 2017. NBIS Records to December 2016. Occurrence dataset: https://doi.org/10.15468/jca5lo accessed via GBIF.org on 2018-10-01.

  9. OBIS (Ocean Biodiversity Information System),  2024. Global map of species distribution using gridded data. Available from: Ocean Biogeographic Information System. www.iobis.org. Accessed: 2024-10-10

Citation

This review can be cited as:

Carter, M.C. 2008. Kurtiella bidentata Two-toothed Montagu shell. In Tyler-Walters H. and Hiscock K. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Reviews, [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 10-10-2024]. Available from: https://www.marlin.ac.uk/species/detail/1939

Last Updated: 17/04/2008