Limatula hodgsoni

{{Short description|Species of bivalve}} {{Speciesbox | fossil_range = | image = | image_caption = | genus = Limatula | species = hodgsoni | authority = (E. A. Smith, 1907) <ref name=WoRMS>{{cite WoRMS |author=Bouchet, Philippe |year=2013 |title=''Limatula hodgsoni'' (E. A. Smith, 1907) |id=197227 |accessdate=16 February 2017}}</ref> | synonyms = *''Lima hodgsoni'' E. A. Smith, 1907 *''Limatula (Antarctolima) hodgsoni'' (E. A. Smith, 1907) *''Limatula closei'' Hedley, 1916 }}

'''''Limatula hodgsoni''''' is a [[species]] of [[bivalve]] [[mollusc]] in the [[Family (taxonomy)|family]] [[Limidae]], the file shells or file clams. It is native to the seas around Antarctica.

==Description== ''Limatula hodgsoni'' grows to a length of {{convert|27|mm|in|1|abbr=on}}, a height of {{convert|35|mm|in|1|abbr=on}} and a diameter of {{convert|20|mm|in|1|abbr=on}}. The [[Bivalve shell|shell]] is white, oblong, thin, narrow above and somewhat convex; the posterior side is less curved than the anterior. The [[Umbo (bivalve)|umbones]] are central and the ligament area is narrow and diamond-shaped. The valves are sculpted by 30 to 35 squamate ribs separated by grooves slightly narrower than the ribs. The ribs are finely marked by the annual growth lines.<ref name=Smithsonian>{{cite web |url=http://invertebrates.si.edu/antiz/taxon_view.cfm?ScreenWidth=1024&ScreenHeight=710&MODE=taxon&taxon=7386 |title=''Limatula (Antarctolima) hodgsoni'' (Smith, 1907) |work=Antarctic Invertebrates |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |accessdate=16 February 2017}}</ref>

==Distribution== ''Limatula hodgsoni'' is found on the seabed of the waters around Antarctica at depths down to at least {{convert|769|m|ft|-2|abbr=on}}.<ref name=Smithsonian/> It is very common in the zone deeper than {{convert|33|m|ft|-1|abbr=on}} which is the lower limit for [[anchor ice]] formation. In some areas, this zone is characterised by a layer of sponge [[Sponge spicule|spicules]] and dead mollusc shells a metre or more thick, overgrown by living [[sponge]]s. This matrix is a [[Biodiversity|biodiverse]] habitat rich in [[sea anemone]]s, [[Polychaete|polychaete worms]], [[Hydroid (zoology)|hydroids]], [[bryozoa]]ns and molluscs.<ref name=Advances>{{cite book|title=Advances in Marine Biology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5TRkC4w8jsoC&pg=PA149 |year=1972 |publisher=Academic Press |isbn=978-0-08-057933-7 |page=149}}</ref> ''Limatula hodgsoni'' is the most abundant bivalve mollusc in this habitat and is preyed on by the starfishes ''[[Odontaster validus ]]'' and ''[[Diplasterias brucei]]''.<ref name=Knox>{{cite book|author=Knox, George A.|title=Biology of the Southern Ocean, Second Edition |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lF_LBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA291 |year=2006|publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-1-4200-0513-4 |page=291}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

[[Category:Limidae]] [[Category:Bivalves described in 1907]]