Species
cockle shells
FAMILY
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumMollusca
- ClassBivalvia
- OrderCardiida
- FamilyCardiidae
Habitatmarine, brackish, freshwater
Many cockles found on the beach are fossils. They date back to the Eemian interglacial period. In those days, a warmer climate dominated the North Sea region. There were many species no longer found nowadays: poorly-ribbed cockles, spiny cockles, rough cockles and little cockles. Most of them closely resemble the present (common) cockles, but as a rule are much thicker. Due to the age, the shells are opaque and dark brown to black in color, and often worn.
via GBIF
Research
282 papers- The behaviour of giant clams (Bivalvia: Cardiidae: Tridacninae).Marine biology · 2014
Article
A cockle is a marine bivalve mollusc. Although many small edible bivalves are loosely called cockles, true cockles are species in the family Cardiidae.
True cockles live in sandy, sheltered beaches throughout the world. The distinctive rounded shells are bilaterally symmetrical, and are heart-shaped when viewed from the end. Numerous radial, evenly spaced ribs are a feature of the shell in most but not all genera (for an exception, see the genus Laevicardium, the egg cockles, which have very smooth shells).