Abstract
SOME bivalves of the super-family Adesmacea are known to penetrate wood by means of mechanical action of the shell valves. The process has been described by various authors, the most comprehensive account being that of Miller1 for Teredo. Although rocking movements of the shell valves about a dorso-ventral axis are known to be important in penetration of this substratum2, there seem to be no records for any wood boring bivalve of the type and frequency of the shell movements involved.
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References
Miller, R. C., Univ. Calif. Publs. Zool., 26, 41 (1924).
Morton, J. E., in Physiology of the Mollusca (edit. by Wilbur, K. M., and Yonge, C. M.), 1 (Academic Press, New York, 1964).
Nair, N. B., and Ansell, A. D., Proc. R. Soc. (in the press).
Yonge, C. M., Research, 4, 162 (1951).
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ANSELL, A., NAIR, N. Shell Movements of a Wood Boring Bivalve. Nature 216, 595 (1967). https://doi.org/10.1038/216595a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/216595a0
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