Little-known arctic species Montacuta spitzbergensis (Bivalvia: Montacutidae) from the north-western Pacific with notes on Montacuta substriata and Tellimya ferruginosa

• Published in: Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
• Main Author: Kamenev, Gennady M.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2008
• Subjects: Aquatic Science; Arctic; Arctic Ocean; Okhotsk; Pacific; Chukchi; Kara-Laptev; Spitsbergen
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0025315408000568; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0025315408000568

An expanded description of a little-known arctic species Montacuta spitzbergensis from the Sea of Okhotsk with new data on its morphology, ecology and geographical distribution is given. This is the first record of M. spitzbergensis from the north-western Pacific. It differs from other species of Montacuta in its large (to 8.4 mm), elongate–ovate, thick shell with wide, slightly curved hinge plate, wide, short, and shallow resilifer, and weakly developed external ligament. This species occurs in the Arctic Ocean (Spitsbergen, Barents, Kara, Laptev and Chukchi Seas) and the Pacific Ocean (Sea of Okhotsk) at depths from 9 to 232 m at a bottom temperature from −1.62°C to +2.50°C. The hinge structure of the type species of the genera Montacuta and Tellimya is also discussed.