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| molluscs text index | photo index |
| Phylum Mollusca > Class Bivalvia |
| File
clams Family Limidae updated Oct 10 Where seen? These large clams are sometimes seen our Northern shores. They are also reported to be found on the Southern shores attached to stones with byssus threads. What are file clams? File clams are bivalves that belong to Family Limidae. Features: 4- 6cm. The two-part shell is thick, white with clear ridges. The animal cannot withdraw completely into its shell which usually has a permanently open gape. Long, fleshy tentacles fringe the mantle. These retractable tentacles emerge from this gape. Often colourful, these tentacles are sticky and detach easily when touched. Some species are attached to a hard surface by byssus threads, or building a nest lined with mingled byssal threads. Other species, like scallops (Family Pectinidae), some file clam species can also 'swim'. They clap their shells together using a strong adductor muscle, creating directed jets of water that emerge from either side of the hinge and propels them in the opposite direction. To distract the disturber, the clam may shed wriggling tentacles. Unlike scallops, file clams can move using their tentacles to 'row' with the shell in a vertical position. They build nests of byssal threads, usually in crevices and among coral rubble. What do they eat? Like many other bivalves, file clams are filter feeders. They use their siphons to suck in water and filter out microscopic food. The water also brings fresh oxygen to the animal. |
 Lima file clam Sentosa, May 07  |
Family Limidae recorded for Singapore
from Tan Siong Kiat and Henrietta P. M. Woo, 2010 Preliminary Checklist of The Molluscs of Singapore.
*in red are those listed among the threatened animals of Singapore from Ng, P. K. L. & Y. C. Wee, 1994. The Singapore Red Data Book: Threatened Plants and Animals of Singapore.
| Family Limidae |
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Lima
vulgaris (Common file clam) = Lima lima |
Links
- Family
Limidae on
The
Gladys Archerd Shell Collection at Washington State University Tri-Cities
Natural History Museum website:
brief description and photos.
- Fragile File shell (Lima fragilis) on the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Multi-Agency Education Project: brief description and photo
- Family Limidae in the Bivalves section by J.M. Poutiers in the FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes: The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific Volume 1: Seaweeds, corals, bivalves and gastropods on the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) website.
- Tan Siong Kiat and Henrietta P. M. Woo, 2010 Preliminary Checklist of The Molluscs of Singapore (pdf), Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, National University of Singapore.
- Tan, K. S. & L. M. Chou, 2000. A Guide to the Common Seashells of Singapore. Singapore Science Centre. 160 pp.
- Tan, Leo W. H. & Ng, Peter K. L., 1988. A Guide to Seashore Life. The Singapore Science Centre, Singapore. 160 pp. File shell (Lima lima)
- Chou, L. M., 1998. A Guide to the Coral Reef Life of Singapore. Singapore Science Centre. 128 pages.
- Wee Y.C. and Peter K. L. Ng. 1994. A First Look at Biodiversity in Singapore. National Council on the Environment. 163pp.
- Abbott, R. Tucker,
1991. Seashells
of South East Asia
. Graham Brash, Singapore. 145 pp.
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