BIOGEOCHEMICAL STUDIES ON THE MOLLUSK BIVALVE AKADARA DILUVII (LAMARCK, 1805) (PTERIOMORPHA ARCIDAE)

BIOGEOCHEMICAL STUDIES ON THE MOLLUSK BIVALVE

AKADARA DILUVII (LAMARCK, 1805) (PTERIOMORPHA ARCIDAE)

By

SHERIF E. RAMADAN,’ AND MOHAMED A. SHATA,
*Kational Inst. of Ocean .. and Fish., Kayet Bey, Alelandria, EGYPT.
Key words: Anadara diluvii, Shell, Biogeochemistry, Description,
Distribution, Habitat, Mineralogy.
ABSTRACT
Anadara diluvii (Lamarck, 1805) is an edible marlne bivalve popular
in Egypt. The X-ray diffraction of its shell proved that it is
entirely composed of aragonite during its whole age stages. The
variations of carbonate elements in the shell during ltS growth are
controlled by the selective uptake of the organism from the desired
elements, the ecological conditions of both the water and sediments
and the mineralogy of the shell. The hardness of the shell through
growth is due to lamination rather than to quartz formation. In
addition to calcium, the elements more involved in building up the
shell are Mgt + , Pbtt, Zn+ +, Cut t and Fett .
Adescript10n of the speC1es, 1ts habitat and d1stribution, as well
as, the chemical composition of the shell and its correlation wlth the
m1neralogy and growth had been provided and discussed.