Scientific Name: Corbicula fluminea (O. F. Müller, 1774)
English Name: Asian Basket Clam
Local/Bangla Name: ঝিনুক(jhinuk)
Photo: Md Muzammel Hossain
Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Bivalvia
Order: Venerida
Family: Cyrenidae
Description:
Corbicula fluminea, is a freshwater clam characterized by a relatively thick and robust shell, in contrast to many other freshwater bivalves. The shell takes on a triangular to ovate shape and features a prominent umbo raised above the dorsal shell margin. The shell hinge exhibits three cardinal teeth and two lateral teeth. Numerous concentric ridges, approximately ~1.5 per millimeter of shell height, adorn the shell. The ratio of shell length to shell height is approximately ~1.06, and the ratio of shell length to shell width is approximately ~1.47. The interior of the shell is glossy white to pale gray, displaying light blue, rose, or purple highlights. In healthy, growing shells, the periostracum is yellow-green, while in old, eroded shells, it turns dark brown and white. Although North American populations are hermaphroditic and exhibit limited genetic variability, there is considerable phenotypic diversity in shell color and shape. These clams can mature at sizes as small as 6.6 mm but occasionally grow as large as 60 mm in length.
Habitat & Distribution in Bangladesh:
Corbicula fluminea occurs in sandy, muddy or gravel-bottomed streams. rivers, ponds and shallow lake shorelines. It can tolerate a wide range of environmental conditions in tropical ecosystem. It lives in streams, as well as hilly areas with wetlands at depths of 0.9 to 3m and in approximately 17.8 cm of sediment. This clam is a filter feeder that removes particles from the water column. It is found on the benthic sediment surface or slightly beneath it. Corbicula fluminea was found in Kamrangichar, Buriganga River (GPS 90 35 07.9 E and 23 74’11.79 N) and the portion of Buriganga River flowing through the heart of the Dhaka city, at an average depth of 7.6 metres (25 ft) and a maximum depth of 18 metres (58 ft): during 2012 to 2013 under the MS Research grant program of Dept. of Zoology, JnU. Old Brahmaputra River, Mymensingh, (GPS 90 37 59.93″E and 24°19’25.35N) originates from the left bank of the Brahmaputra to the north of Bahadurabad. Flowing more or less to the southeast it passes the cities of Jamalpur and Mymensingh and joins into the Meghna at Bhairab Bazar Kaptai Lake, Rangamati (GPS 92 12 49.78 E in India. It is about 160 kilometres in length and 3 to 8 kilometres wide, having a mean depth of 1.96 meters, and originates from the lowlands of Thakurgaon District of Bangladesh (Figures 1 & 2).
Environment:
freshwater
