- Description
- The Rostrate Tellin shown at the right is paper thin. It was collected on the island of Honshu, Japan, in 1960, in a central location. In general, tellins have narrow, thin shells, and a wide blade-like foot. They can easily insert their foot into soft sands, and, since their body is also blade-like, they can withdraw below fast enough to escape a predator.
- Interestingly, tellins carry the oxygen carrying pigment, hemoglobin, in both their nerve ganglia and muscle cells. The myoglobin form of this pigment is found in muscles, giving them a bright red color. This property of assisted oxygen delivery to tissues is also found in a few other bivalves (see for example, Arcidae).
- In contrast to most tellins, the Rasp Tellin shown below has a rather sturdy shell with a perisostracum that seems like it could serve as a rasp.
- Classification
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- Class: Bivalvia
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- Subclass: Heterodonta
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- Order: Veneroida
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- Superfamily: Tellinacea
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- Family: Tellinidae
- Major Genera
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- Genus: Apolemetus
- Genus: Gastrona
- Genus: Macoma
- Genus: Psammotreta
- Genus: Strigilla
- Genus: Tellina
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