Skip to content
Research Article Open access cc-by

The Regulation of Interspecific Variations of Shell Shape in Bivalves: An Illustration with the Common “Clams” Fauna along French Coasts

Jean Béguinot

Asian Journal of Research in Animal and Veterinary Sciences · pp. 1–12 · Published 10 Feb 2018

10.9734/AJRAVS/2018/39207

Abstract

I report an unexpected negative covariance occurring between two major parameters governing shell growth in marine bivalves, especially within the order Veneroida. This relationship is highlighted, here, considering a set of forty, rather common species of clams collected from French coasts. Interestingly, this negative covariance has two (geometrically related) consequences on the pattern of variation of shell shape at the inter-specific level:    (i)  An extended range of variation of shell elongation ‘E’ is made compatible with.    (ii) A severely restricted range of variation of the ventral convexity ‘K’ of the shell contour. I suggest that:    (i) The extended range of interspecific variation of the shell elongation ‘E’ results from a trend towards larger differentiation between species according to this functionally important parameter E, while, in contrast,    (ii) The strongly restricted range of variation of the ventral convexity ‘K’ of the shell contour might arguably result from a common need for improved shell resistance, face to mechanical solicitations from the environment, either biotic or abiotic. Accordingly, the negative covariance reported between these two growth parameters is understood as the indirect consequence of the selective pressures applying primarily upon the functionally-relevant shell shape parameters E and K.

Mollusc Veneroida shell contour growth parameters functional parameters covariance selective pressure morphospace

References (18)

  1. 1 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA [DOI]
  2. 2 Developmental Constraints and Evolution: A Perspective from the Mountain Lake Conference on Development and Evolution [DOI]
  3. 3 Relation of Shell Form to Life Habits of the Bivalvia (Mollusca) [DOI]
  4. 4 Geometric analysis of shell coiling; general problems
  5. 5 Phenotypic plasticity and genetic isolation-by-distance in the freshwater mussel Unio pictorum (Mollusca: Unionoida) [DOI]
  6. 6 Identification of ecophenotypic trends within three European freshwater mussel species (Bivalvia: Unionoida) using traditional and modern morphometric techniques [DOI]
  7. 7 The bio-geometry of mollusc shells [DOI]
  8. 8 The morphology of deep-sea Thyasiridae (Mollusca: Bivalvia) from the Atlantic Ocean [DOI]
  9. 9 Developmental plasticity of shell morphology of quagga mussels from shallow and deep-water habitats of the Great Lakes [DOI]
  10. 10 Divergent Chemosymbiosis-Related Characters in Thyasira cf. gouldi (Bivalvia: Thyasiridae) [DOI]
  11. 11 SHAPE AND FUNCTION OF THE SHELL: A COMPARISON OF SOME LIVING AND FOSSIL BIVALVE MOLLUSCS [DOI]
  12. 12 Ultra-elongate Freshwater Pearly Mussels (Unionida): Roles for Function and Constraint in Multiple Morphologic Convergences with Marine Taxa [DOI]
  13. 13 Functional morphology, ecology, and evolutionary conservatism in the Glycymerididae (Bivalvia) [DOI]
  14. 14 Effects of shell morphology on mechanics of zebra and quagga mussel locomotion [DOI]
  15. 15 A description of the generating curve of bivalves with straight hinges [DOI]
  16. 16 Covarying Shell Growth Parameters and the Regulation of Shell Shape in Marine Bivalves: A Case Study on Tellinoidea [DOI]
  17. 17 Covariations between Shell-Growth Parameters and the Control of the Ranges of Variation of Functionally Relevant Shell-Shape Parameters in Bivalves: A Theoretical Approach [DOI]
  18. 18 A natural history of shells [DOI]

Cited by 1

Variations in shell morphology of freshwater mussels Anodonta anatina and Unio tumidus (Bivalvia: Unionidae) from Lake Polvijärvi, Finland

Olfat Abdelsaleheen · Journal of Environmental Studies · 2024

Related research

Article metrics

Real usage data collected on this platform.

51

Page views

0

PDF downloads

11

Outbound clicks

1

Citations

Views over time

Views by country

Approximate, from request IP at view time — not citizenship or institution. Countries with fewer than 5 views are grouped as "Other".

Traffic sources

Referring site, by host.

Views and downloads exclude known bots/crawlers. Citations combines this platform's own DOI-resolved index with each external source's own reported total — see Cited by above for individually listed citing works. Last refreshed 0 seconds ago.