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Cerastoderma edule
Sign in to saveAlso known as Common cockle, Cardium edulis
species of edible saltwater clam
Species
common cockle
SPECIES
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumMollusca
- ClassBivalvia
- OrderCardiida
- FamilyCardiidae
Cockles are easy to recognize with their thick ribbed shells. The beach is usually strewn with loose shell halves. They filter plankton out of the water for food, using two siphons. By sticking these siphons out of the sand, they come in contact with the water. A cockle can filter a half liter of water per hour. All together, it takes only a few weeks for the cockles in the mudflats to filter the entire Wadden Sea. Shorebirds and eiders are very fond of cockles, as are some people.
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Wikidata facts
- Image
- Coque blanche (Cerastoderma edule).jpg
Show 5 more facts
- taxon name
- Cerastoderma edule
- Commons category
- Cerastoderma edule
- Commons gallery
- Cerastoderma edule
- taxon common name
- Essbare Herzmuschel
- short name
- C. edule
Sources (3)
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Article
The common cockle (Cerastoderma edule) is a species of edible saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Cardiidae, the cockles. It is found in waters off Europe, from Iceland in the north, south into waters off western Africa as far south as Senegal. The ribbed oval shells can reach 6 centimetres (2.4 in) across and are white, yellowish or brown in colour. The common cockle is harvested commercially and eaten in much of its range.
Taxonomy and naming