Acta Adriatica, Vol. 46 No. 1, 2005.
Original scientific paper
Infestation of the clam Venus verrucosa by Sipunculoidea and the lithophagus bivalve, Gastrochaena dubia
Najoua Trigui El-Menif
Youssef Guezzi
Marcel Le Pennec
Moncef Boumaiza
Gaëumll Le Pennec
Abstract
From August 2003 to July 2004, specimens of the bivalve Venus verrucosa (L.) were collected monthly in the channel connecting the lagoon of Bizerte (Tunisia) to the Mediterranean Sea. During the winter, 4% of the specimens had tiny perforations on the outer and inner faces of the valves; the perforations were connected to an intra-valve network of galleries, caused by 10-12 mm Sipunculoidea. Of specimens collected in February-March, 4% were infested with the lithophagous bivalve, Gastrochaena dubia, that lived within a cavity in the V. verrucosa valves. The cavity communicated to the outside through a calcareous tube developed by the G. dubia near the exit of the V. verrucosa siphons, ndicating parasitism that can cause progressive perforation of the valve and lead to the death of the host.
Keywords
Venus verrucosa; Sipunculoidea, Gastrochaenia dubia, Bizerte Lagoon, Tunisia
Hrčak ID:
81
URI
Publication date:
1.6.2005.
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