Bivalvia |
Mytilida |
Mytilidae
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Benthic; depth range 0 - 50 m (Ref. 101292). Tropical; 10°C - 30°C (Ref. 113750), preferred 26°C (Ref. 107945); 37°N - 35°S, 64°W - 82°E
Western Indian Ocean, Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea: from the southern Caribbean to Uruguay, eastern Atlantic from Portugal to Senegal, and Congo to South Africa, and in the western Indian Ocean from South Africa to Sri Lanka. Introduced in the Gulf of Mexico. Tropical and subtropical.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm Max length : 17.0 cm SHL male/unsexed; (Ref. 271)
Shell mussel-shaped, ventral margin straight, posterior end rounded. Shell surface smooth except for fine growth lines. Hinge 1 or 2 teeth. Periostracum flaky. Colour: externally brown or light brown with concentric yellow bands near ventral margin, internally purple, nacreous.
It is heavily exploited commercially, stocks are dwindling in southernmost part or range. Consumed boiled in juices, marinated, grilled with rice, or in a number of different local dishes. Canned industrially (Ref. 271). Minimum depth from Ref. 104365. It is attached by byssus onto hard substrates, common in high-energy rocky coasts (Ref. 271). Feeds primarily on detritus (Ref. 114808).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Members of the class Bivalvia are mostly gonochoric, some are protandric hermaphrodites. Life cycle: Embryos develop into free-swimming trocophore larvae, succeeded by the bivalve veliger, resembling a miniature clam.
Carpenter, K.E. (ed.) 2002 The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Volume 1: Introduction, molluscs, crustaceans, hagfishes, sharks, batoid fishes, and chimaeras. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes and American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Special Publication No. 5, Rome. 600p. (Ref. 271)
IUCN Red List Status
(Ref. 130435: Version 2025-1)
CITES status (Ref. 108899)
Not Evaluated
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Human uses
Fisheries: highly commercial
FAO - Aquaculture: production; Fisheries: landings | FishSource | Sea Around Us
Tools
More information
Life cycleReproductionMaturityFecunditySpawningEggsEgg developmentLarvae PhysiologyOxygen consumption
Human RelatedStamps, coins, misc.
Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature
(Ref.
115969): 14.8 - 27.8, mean 24.9 (based on 654 cells).
Resilience
High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (K=0.06-1.5).
Fishing Vulnerability
Low to moderate vulnerability (29 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability
Moderate to high vulnerability (51 of 100).
Nutrients : Calcium = 149 [71, 228] mg/100g; Iron = 8.53 [1.95, 15.11] mg/100g; Protein = 9.88 [8.64, 11.12] %; Omega3 = 0.313 [0.202, 0.423] g/100g; Selenium = 61 [50, 72] μg/100g; VitaminA = 0 μg/100g; Zinc = 2.04 [0.56, 3.51] mg/100g (wet weight); based on
nutrient studies.
