Barrel , or giant ton [1] ( lat. Tonna galea ) - a species of marine gastropod mollusks from the family Tonnidae .
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 Clamshell | ||||||||||||||||||
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This is the largest clam in the Mediterranean Sea, reaching a length of up to 25 cm. It has a large proboscis and a thin-walled, swollen shell of pale brown-yellow color.
The salivary glands of this mollusk are extremely developed, and a liquid is released in them, which serves to protect in the event of an attack by enemies. Once on marble, this liquid causes a strong hiss due to the fact that the saliva of the barrel, which sometimes is allocated up to 100 grams, immediately contains free sulfuric acid (its amount varies between 2.7 and 4.88%), as well as free hydrochloric acid (from 0.26 to 0.4%). If the salivary gland of the barrel is left in the air, then it will release a significant amount of carbon dioxide. Until now, it has not been possible to find out how such a significant amount of acids can form in the gland and how it is stored without destroying the organ in which it is contained.
The species is common in the warm seas of the Atlantic, Indian and western Pacific oceans. It lives on a sandy and silty bottom at a depth of 5 to 80 meters [2] .
It feeds on echinoderms , preferring holothurians .
Notes
- ↑ Ershov V.E. , Kantor Yu. I. Sea shells. Brief identifier. - M .: Italic, 2008 .-- S. 124. - 3,000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-89592-059-6 .
- ↑ Sealifebase: Tonna galea (Linnaeus, 1758), giant tun
Links
- Barrel // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.