APHOTOMARINE
An educational resource dedicated mainly to the photography
and diversity of marine life that can be found in coastal waters
and intertidal areas of Great Britain and Ireland by David Fenwick.
Trans-atlantic rafting molluscs
The list here has been made because of the volume of new species washing up on the beaches around the UK , winter 2015/16, that have originated from the east coast of the United States of America, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean or beyond. Only rafting species have been listed, so animals that depend on either wood, seeds or flotsam e.g. plastic refuse and fishing gear, for getting across the Atlantic. Most cosmopolitan species have been left off the list. These are species that occur on both sides of the Atlantic. Pelagic species such as Gooseneck barnacles (Lepas) have been added, as these are frequently found on the shore and may come from a south-westerly direction, they also may be associated with trans-atlantic rafting species.
The list of molluscs and other species above has been produced to promote the current stranding of non-native species on our shores, its purpose, to alert beachcombers, scientists and the wider general public, of what is happening.
Its main intent however is to alert those who regularly visit beaches and who may find such species, as it is important that we make the best inventory possible. Because the information here is mainly for the general public I must remind those who write scientific papers that permission is needed to reproduce or part reproduce any list that appears here.
Bivales (Mollusca)
Anadara transversa (Say, 1822) - Transverse ark
Arca zebra (Swainson, 1833) - Turkey Wing
Martesia fragilis Verrill & Bush, 1898
- A Wood piddock
Martesia striata (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Striate wood piddock or Wood piddock
Chama congregata Conrad, 1833 - Corrugated jewel box clam or Corrugated jewelbox
Chama macerophylla Gmelin, 1791
- Leafy jewel box clam or Leafy jewelbox
Chama sarda Reeve, 1847 - Cherry jewel box clam
Spondylus tenuis Schreibers, 1793
syn. Spondylus ictericus - Digitate thorny oyster
Brachidontes exustus (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Scorched mussel
Musculus sp. - A Mussel (finder Dr. P. Gainey 1986)
Mytilus trossulus Gould, 1850
- Foolish or Pacific blue mussel (native)
Dendostrea frons (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Frond or 'Coon oyster
Ostrea stentina Payraudeau, 1826 syn. O. equestris
- Crested or Horse oyster
Anomia simplex d'Orbigny, 1853
- Common jingle shell
Heteranomia squamula (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Prickly saddle oyster (cosmopolitan)
Pododesmus rudis (Broderip, 1834)
- False jingle shell
Aequipecten opercularis (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Queen scallop as Aequipecten heliacus (Dall, 1925)
Argopecten gibbus (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Atlantic calico scallop
Euvola ziczac (Linnaeus, 1758) - Zigzag scallop
Isognomon bicolor (C. B. Adams, 1845)
- Bicolor purse-oyster
Isognomon radiatus (Anton, 1838)
- Radial purse-oyster
Pinctada imbricata imbricata Röding, 1798
- Atlantic Pearl Oyster
Pteria colymbus (Röding, 1798) - A Wing oyster
Pinna carnea Gmelin, 1791 - Amber pen shell
Marine snails (Mollusca)
Cerithium litteratum (Born, 1778)
- Stocky cerith or Lettered horn shell
Stramonita floridana (Conrad, 1837)
- Florida rock snail
Sea slugs (Mollusca)
Fiona pinnata (Eschscholtz, 1831) - Noble aeolis
Other confirmed trans-atlantic rafting species
Cnidaria / Scyphozoa (True jellyfish)
Linuche unguiculata (Schwartz, 1788)
- Thimble jellyfish (non-native species)
Cnidaria / Hydrozoa (Sea firs / hydroids)
Millepora species - A Fire coral
Cnidaria / Scleractinia (Stony, Hard and Cup corals)
Astrangia species - A Stone coral
Bryozoa (Sea mats)
Akatopora tincta (Winston and Vieira 2013)
- A cheilostome bryozoan (non-native NW Atlantic species)
Membranipora tenuis Desor, 1848 ?
- A cheilostome bryozoan (cosmopolitan)
Foraminifera (Forams or Hole bearers)
Homotrema rubra (Lamarck, 1816)
- A non-native hole bearer or foram from USA
Annelida (Marine worms)
Spirobranchus americanus (Day, 1973)
- A Keeled tubeworm
Platyhelminthes (Marine flatworms)
Astrotorhynchus bifidus (McIntosh, 1874)
Crustacea (Barnacles)
Balanus trigonus Darwin, 1854 - A Barnacle
Dosima fascicularis Ellis & Solander, 1786
- Buoy barnacle
Lepas (Anatifa) anatifera Linnaeus, 1758
- Common goose, Smooth goose-neck or Ship barnacle
Lepas (Anatifa) anserifera Linnaeus, 1767
- A Goose, Goose-neck or Stalked barnacle
Lepas (Anatifa) hillii Leach, 1818
- A Goose, Goose-neck or Stalked barnacle
Lepas (Anatifa) pectinata Spengler, 1793
- A Goose-neck or Duck barnacle
Conchoderma virgatum Spengler, 1789
Crustaceans (Amphipods)
Caprella andreae Mayer, 1890 - A Skeleton shrimps
Crustacea (Isopods)
Idotea metallica Bosc, 1802 - An isopod
Crustacea (Crabs)
Planes minutus (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Columbus or Gulf-weed crab
Algae on flotsam
There are likely to be hundreds of species of algae, some microscopic, that cross the Atlantic on items of flotsam, which is why I'm not going to attempt to mention them all here, but just mention two or three interesting ones.
Anadyomene stellata (Wulfen) C.Agardh, 1823
- Common sea kale (non-native species)
Petalonia zosterifolia (Reinke) Kuntze, 1898
- A Brown algae
Likely trans-atlantic rafting molluscs
Arca imbricata Bruguière, 1789 - Mossy ark
Lunarca ovalis (Bruguière, 1789)
syn. Anadara ovalis - Blood ark clam
Isognomon alatus (Gmelin, 1791)
- Flat tree oyster
Chama florida Lamarck, 1819
- Pretty jewel box clam or Pretty jewelbox
Spondylus americanus Hermann, 1781
- Atlantic thorny oyster
Choristodon robustus (Sowerby I, 1834)
- An Atlantic petricolid
Mulinia lateralis (Say, 1822) - Dwarf surf or Coot clam
Brachidontes modiolus (Linnaeus, 1767) - Yellow mussel
Geukensia demissa (Dillwyn, 1817)
- Atlantic ribbed mussel
Mytilopsis leucophaeata (Conrad, 1831)
- Conrad's or Dark false mussel
Perna viridis (Linnaeus, 1758) - Asian green mussel
Plicatula gibbosa Lamarck, 1801 - Atlantic kitten's paw
Crassostrea gigas (Thunberg, 1793)
- Portuguese or Rock oyster
Crassostrea rhizophorae (Guilding, 1828)
- Mangrove or Mangrove cupped oyster
Crassostrea virginica (Gmelin, 1791)
- Eastern oyster
Atrina rigida (Lightfoot, 1786) - Stiff pen shell
Atrina serrata (G. B. Sowerby I, 1825)
- Saw-tooth pen shell
Atrina seminuda (Lamarck, 1819) - Half-naked pen shell
Pinna rudis Linnaeus, 1758
- Rough pen shell or Spiny fan-mussel
Costoanachis avara (Say, 1822)
- Greedy dove shell
Costoanachis sparsa (Reeve, 1859)
- Sparse dove shell
Cotonopsis lafresnayi (P. Fischer & Bernardi, 1856)
- Well-ribbed dove shell
Nitidella nitida (Lamarck, 1822) - Glossy dove shell
Lithopoma americanum (Gmelin, 1791)
- American Starsnail
There are many other molluscs and other species that could turn up in the UK, either on plastic flotsam, floats, buoys, orange or other colours of Scotty bait jars, fishing gear or on logs etc., the list above is just a general guide.
Other NW Atlantic / Gulf of Mexico / Caribbean
species of molluscs
Codakia orbicularis (Linnaeus, 1758) - Tiger lucine
Donax variabilis Say, 1822 - Coquina clam
Crepidula convexa Say, 1822
- Convex slippersnail / slipper limpet
Crepidula fornicata (Linnaeus, 1758)
- American slippersnail / slipper limpet
Crepidula plana Say, 1822
- Eastern white slippersnail / slipper limpet
Eupleura caudata (Say, 1822) - Thick-lipped Oyster Drill
Identification and recording --I am quite prepared to receive records or images of any unusual find that appears around the UK and help identify biological material. E-mail
