Lunarca ovalis (Bruguière, 1789)
Blood ark
Lunarca ovalis
photo by Coltro, Marcus

Family:  Arcidae ()
Max. size:  7.6 cm SHL (male/unsexed)
Environment:  benthic; marine; depth range 0 - 68 m
Distribution:  Western Atlantic: from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to the West Indies and Brazil.
Diagnosis:  Equivalved, oval in shape. Size range: 2.8-7.6 cm shell length. Shell length to height ratio = 1.16 (Ref. 78148). Shell depth reaching 70% of height (Ref. 78152).
Biology:  In the USA, this species remains a potential fishery resource. From the late 1990s to early 2000s, wild stocks of this species are the target of a small-scale fishery in North Carolina (Ref. 78154) and the eastern coast of Virginia with exports primarily as ethnic food to Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and Washington D.C. (Ref. 78152). Occurs at depths ranging from the low-tide line to 3 m (Ref. 78147). Found in an estuarine environment (Ref. 104365). Found in most soft bottoms but prefers fine sand (Ref. 78148). Is a suspension feeder, discreetly motile while feeding with its ctenidia, i.e., the comb-like structure functioning as gill in bivalve mollusks (Ref. 78149). In general, suspension feeding bivalves mainly depend on phytoplankton and detritus material for nutrition (Ref. 107088).
IUCN Red List Status: Not Evaluated (N.E.) Ref. 123251)
Threat to humans:  harmless
Country info:   
 

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