{{Short description|Species of bivalve}} {{Speciesbox | image =Nucula proxima (YPM IZ 102018).jpeg | genus = Nucula | species = proxima | authority = Say, 1822 }}
'''''Nucula proxima''''', commonly known as the '''Atlantic nut clam''', is a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Nuculidae. It can be found along the Atlantic coast of North America, ranging from Nova Scotia to Texas, including Bermuda.<ref>Abbott, R.T. & Morris, P.A. ''A Field Guide to Shells: Atlantic and Gulf Coasts and the West Indies.'' New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1995. 3.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Nucula proxima Say, 1822|url=http://marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=156916#distributions|access-date=2021-03-12|website=marinespecies.org}}</ref>
==Description== ''Nucula proxima'' has a obliquely oval, off-white to gray, shell. The exterior is glossy smooth with brownish conmarginal growth lines. The interior is a nacreous white color with fine radial striations. The length ranges from 3 mm to 10 mm. Size, shape, and color vary based on where the species is environmentally, this has led to multiple named forms.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Mikkelsen|first=Paula M.|title=Seashells of southern Florida : living marine mollusks of the Florida keys and adjacent regions, bivalves|date=2008|publisher=Princeton University Press|others=Rüdiger Bieler|isbn=978-0-691-11606-8|location=Princeton|oclc=78071775}}</ref>
==Ecology== ''Nucula proxima'' typically lives on muddy-sand bottoms. Unlike most bivalves which are filter-feeders, ''N. proxima'' is a deposit-feeder. Thus it consumes decomposing organic matter film and bacteria that accumulates on the sea floor. They do this by using their labial palp, a proboscis likes structure that has a ciliated groove, to feed.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Leal|first=José H.|date=2015-09-11|title=The Atlantic Nut Clam|url=https://www.shellmuseum.org/post/2015/09/11/the-atlantic-nut-clam|access-date=2021-03-12|website=shellmuseum|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Labial palp {{!}} mollusk anatomy|url=https://www.britannica.com/science/labial-palp|access-date=2021-03-12|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref>
==References== <references /> {{Taxonbar|from=Q3017046}}
Category:Nuculidae Category:Molluscs of the Atlantic Ocean Category:Bivalves described in 1822 Category:Taxa named by Thomas Say
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