Lithophaga, the date mussels, are a genus of medium-sized marine bivalve molluscs in the family Mytilidae. Some of the earliest fossil Lithophaga shells have been found in Mesozoic rocks from the Alps and from Vancouver Island.[2][3]
| Lithophaga Temporal range: Triassic to Recent
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| One valve of a shell of Lithophaga truncata | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Bivalvia |
| Order: | Mytilida |
| Family: | Mytilidae |
| Genus: | Lithophaga Röding, 1798 |
| Species | |
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See text | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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The shells of species in this genus are long and narrow with parallel sides. The animals bore into stone or coral rock with the help of pallial gland secretions,[4] hence the systematic name Lithophaga, which means "stone-eater". Their club-shaped borings are given the trace fossil name Gastrochaenolites.[3]
Species edit
Species within the genus Lithophaga include:
- Lithophaga antillarum (d'Orbigny, 1842) - giant date mussel
- Lithophaga aristata (Dillwyn, 1817) - scissor date mussel
- Lithophaga attenuata (Deshayes, 1836) - attenuated date mussel
- Lithophaga balanas Dall
- Lithophaga balanus Dall
- Lithophaga bisulcata (d'Orbigny, 1842) - mahogany date mussel
- Lithophaga cardigera
- Lithophaga cavernosa
- Lithophaga cinnamomeus
- Lithophaga dactylus
- Lithophaga fasciola Dall, Bartsch, & Rehder
- Lithophaga gracilis Philippi
- Lithophaga hawaia Dall, Bartsch, & Rehder
- Lithophaga ilabis (Deshayes)
- Lithophaga lithophaga (Linne)
- Lithophaga nigra (d'Orbigny, 1842) - black date mussel
- Lithophaga plumula (Hanley, 1844) - feather date mussel
- Lithophaga punctata (Kleemann & Hoeksema, 2002)
- Lithophaga rogersi S. S. Berry, 1957 - Roger's date mussel
- Lithophaga truncata (Gray, 1843)
- Lithophaga simplex
References edit
- "Lithophaga". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
- Stephen D. A. Smith, Densities of the endolithic bivalve Lithophaga lessepsiana (Vaillant, 1865) in Pocillopora damicornis, Solitary Islands Marine Park, northern NSW, Australia; Molluscan Research 31(1): 42–46; ISSN 1323-5818
- ^ Gofas, Serge (2004). "Lithophaga Röding, 1798". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species.
- ^ Ludvigsen, Rolf & Beard, Graham. 1997. West Coast Fossils: A Guide to the Ancient Life of Vancouver Island. pg. 102
- ^ a b Kleemann, K.H., 1994. Mytilid bivalve Lithophaga in Upper Triassic coral Pamiroseris from Zlambach Beds compared with Cretaceous Lithophaga alpina. Facies 30, 151–154.
- ^ "integument (mollusks)."Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica 2006 Ultimate Reference Suite DVD
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