SciELO - Scientific Electronic Library Online

 
vol.49 número3-4Presence of the orchid Oncidium maduroi (Orchidaceae: Oncidiinae) in Costa RicaVuelo de mariposas nocturnas frente a la costa de Chile (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) índice de autoresíndice de materiabúsqueda de artículos
Home Pagelista alfabética de revistas  

Servicios Personalizados

Revista

Articulo

Indicadores

Links relacionados

Compartir


Revista de Biología Tropical

versión On-line ISSN 0034-7744versión impresa ISSN 0034-7744

Rev. biol. trop vol.49 no.3-4 San José dic. 2001

 

A Pleistocene mangrove cockle Anadara grandis (Pelecypoda: Arcidae)
from Cartagena, Colombian Caribbean

 

Ricardo Alvarez-León 1 and Jaime R. Cantera-Kintz 2

1 Universidad de La Sabana. Apdo. Aéreo 101372. Santa Fe de Bogotá D.C.- Colombia. Fax 57-1-8618979; E-mail: alvarez_leon@hotmail.com

2 Universidad del Valle. Apdo. Aéreo 25360. Cali (Valle)-Colombia. E-mail: jcantera@biologia.univalle.edu.co

Received 25-III-2000. Corrected 6-IV-2001. Accepted 18-VI-2001.

Key words: Anadara, mangrove cockle, fossil, Colombian Caribbean.

 

In the Colombian Caribbean, the genus Anadara Gray, 1847 includes, according to Díaz-Merlano and Puyana-Hegedus (1994), five species: A. notabilis (Röding, 1798), A. baughmani Hertlein, 1951, A. ovalis (Brugière, 1798), A. brasiliana (Lamark, 1819), and A. chemnitzi (Philipii, 1851). These species are common in sandy mud bottoms on depths of 1 to 60 m. Only A. ovalis has been founded in waters with low salinities, typical of estuaries and coastal lagoons.

In 1995 a single, fossilized shell of A. grandis was found in Pleistocene terraces over reefs or calcareous rocks near Cartagena (Colombian Caribbean; 10º20’ N, 75º25’ W). The specimen collection matches the description of A. grandis presented by Keen (1971). The white shell is very large (112 mm long, 89 mm height and 80 mm diameter), solid, massive and heavy. It has 26 ribs, thickest in the middle of the shell. A ligament scar shows its distribution in grooves or pits above the hinge. The shell is well preserved and still shows the fibrous periostracum.

This specimen suggests ancient exchanges between oceans before the rise of the isthmus of Panama. Associated corals (Agaricia, Favia, Meandrina, Porites, and Siderastrea) are also important.

 

References

Díaz-Merlano, J.M. & M. Puyana-Hegedus. 1994. Moluscos del Caribe colombiano: Un catálogo ilustrado. Colciencias, Fundación Natura, Invemar. Santafé de Bogotá, Colombia. 291 p.        [ Links ]

Keen, M.A. 1971. Seashells of tropical west America. Marine mollusks from Baja California to Peru. Stanford University, Stanford, California. 1 064 p.        [ Links ]

Creative Commons License Todo el contenido de esta revista, excepto dónde está identificado, está bajo una Licencia Creative Commons