COCKLE SHELLS FOR COLLECTORS AND CRAFTERS

Cockle Shell

A cockle is an edible marine bivalve mollusk. Many small edible bivalves are loosely called cockles, true cockles are species in the family Cardiidae.

A bivalve is an animal that has two hinged shells, which are called valves. All bivalves are mollusks. Examples of bivalves are clams, mussels, oysters, and scallops. Bivalves are found in both freshwater and marine environments.

There are about 10,000 species of bivalves.Bivalves range in size from less than a millimeter to close to 5 feet (e.g., the giant clam).

A bivalve's shell is formed of calcium carbonate that is secreted from the bivalve's mantle, which is the soft wall of the animal's body. The shell grows as the organism inside gets bigger. Not all bivalves have externally visible shells - some are small, some are not even visible. Shipworms are a bivalve that doesn't have a very visible shell - their shell is made up of two valves at the worm's anterior (back) end.

Bivalves have a foot, but not an obvious head. They also don't have a radula or jaws. Some bivalves move around (e.g., scallops), some burrow into the sediment (e.g., clams) or even rocks, and some attach to hard substrates (e.g, mussels).

True cockles live in sandy, sheltered beaches throughout the world. The distinctive rounded shells are bilaterally symmetrical, and are heart-shaped when viewed from the end. Numerous radial, evenly spaced ribs are a feature of the shell in most but not all genera.

genera is the plural of genus. Genus is a group of species that are closely related through common decent and belong to a taxon called taxongenera.

The shell of a cockle is able to close completely (i.e., there is no "gap" at any point around the edge). The shell of a cockle may resemble that of a scallop because of the ribs, cockles can be distinguished from scallops morphologically in that cockle shells lack "auricles" (triangular ear-shaped protrusions near the hinge line) and scallop shells lack a pallial sinus. Behaviorally, cockles live buried in sediment, whereas scallops either are free-living and will swim into the water column to avoid a predator, or in some cases live attached by a byssus to a substrate.

A byssus is a bundle of filaments secreted by many species of bivalve mollusks that function to attach the mollusk to a solid surface.

A substrate is the base layer of something, or a layer that's underneath another layer. It can also be a surface on which an organism grows or is attached.

The mantle has three apertures (inhalant, exhalant, and pedal) for siphoning water and for the foot to protrude. Cockles typically burrow using the foot, and feed by filtering plankton from the surrounding water. Cockles are capable of "jumping" by bending and straightening the foot. As is the case in many bivalves, cockles display gonochorism (the sex of an individual varies according to conditions),[3] and some species reach maturity rapidly.

The common name cockle is also given by seafood sellers to a number of other small, edible marine bivalves which have a somewhat similar shape and sculpture, but are in other families such as the Veneridae (Venus clams) and the ark clams (Arcidae). Cockles in the family Cardiidae are sometimes referred to as "true cockles" to distinguish them from these other species.

There are more than 205 living species of cockles.

The common cockle, (Cerastoderma edule), is widely distributed around the coastlines of Northern Europe, with a range extending west to Ireland, the Barents Sea in the north, Norway in the east, and as far south as Senegal.

This species is also used in aquaculture. Farming of cockles is ongoing in the UK, the Netherlands and Portugal. However, production in those countries has not been very stable. Future success of aquafarming is very much in question.

The dog cockle, Glycymeris glycymeris, has a similar range and habitat to the common cockle, but is not at all closely related, being in the family Glycymerididae. The dog cockle is edible, but due to its toughness when cooked it is generally not eaten, although a process is being developed to solve this problem.

The blood cockle, Tegillarca granosa (not related to the true cockles, instead in the ark clam family, Arcidae) is extensively cultured from southern Korea to Malaysia.

Scientific classification

Domain: Eukaryota

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Mollusca

Class: Bivalvia

Order: Cardiida

Superfamily: Cardioidea

Family: Cardiidae

Lamarck, 1809

(REF: Schneider, Jay A. (1995). "Phylogeny of the Cardiidae (Mollusca, Bivalvia): Protocardiinae, Laevicardiinae, Lahilliinae, Tulongocardiinae subfam. n. and Pleuriocardiinae subfam. n.". Zoologica Scripta. 24 )(REF: >MolluscaBase eds. (2022). MolluscaBase. Cardiidae Lamarck, 1809. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species)(REF: "Synthesis on biology of Common European Cockle (Cerastoderma edule" (PDF). Reservebaiedesaintbrieuc.com. )(REF: Bieler, Rüdiger; Carter, Joseph G.; Coan, Eugene Victor (2010). "Classification of Bivalve families". Nomenclator of Bivalve Families with a Classification of Bivalve Families. Vol. 52)(REF: Bivalve Seashells of Tropical West America: Marine Bivalve Mollusks from Baja California to Northern Perú. Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History)(REF: Cunningham, Joseph Thomas (1911). "Cockle" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6)

Heart Cockle Shell

The Cardium Cardissa shell or true Heart Shell is a bivalve. The shell is made of two matching shells. One upper snd one lower shell.

The Heart Shell is very delicate shell. This bivalve forms an upper and lower shell, joined forming a heart shape pair.

The front half of the shell is radially ribbed.

The Heart Shell colors vary from the more common white to yellow, a very few are violet, pink and pink-spotted. (b)Please do not request pairs with color

The Cardium Cardissa (Heart Cockle Shell) like sandy, shallow water and range from East African shores to the Northern shores of Australia.

N2-14 One Cardium Cardissa (Heart cockle Shell) natural color (mostly white to cream color) 1 to 2 1/4 inches...... .75

Butter Cream Cockle

Butter Cream Cockles are found in the Western Atlantic Basin. There color ranges from very light off white or light cream to a sunset yellowish tint. They are a commonly found shell.

bcckl

One Butter Cream Cockle approximately 2 1/2 inches or less...... .04

THE ROSE COCKLE IS FROM THE INDO-PACIFIC REGION

The Indo-Pacific region stretches from the Indian Ocean east to the Sea of Japan and south to the New Zealand shores.

These shells popular among crafters due to its inner shell colors. Rose Cockle inner shells vary in color, from deep purple to a much lighter purple hue.

R1-9

One Rose Cockle shell approximately 2 1/2 inches or less...... .05

HAITION ROSE COCKLE

The Haition Rose Cockle is a shallow water species found in the Indo-Pacific region.

Sold as single shells, not as complete bivalve, with its matching top and bottom.

P1-14

One Haition Rose Cockle shell 1/2  inch or more...... .04

AMERICAN COCKLE SHELL

These are complete cockle shells (bivalve) having top and matching bottom of shell. As shown in picture they are shipped sealed a a complete shell.

W0-10

One American Cockle 2 inches or less...... .69

BROWN COCKLE SHELL

The Brown Cockle shell is found across the tropical western Pacific in shallow sandy areas sea floors.

Sold as single shells, not a complete bivalve with a matching top and bottom

R2-9

One Brown Cockle 1 4/8 inches or less...... .03

GIANT POLISHED COCKLE SHELL

The Giant Cockle is a bivalve shell. This means the mollusk (animal inhabiting the shell) creates a top and matching bottom shell. The Giant Cockle as well as other cockle shells move thru the water by using their long powerful foot. The foot allows them to several inches as they move across muddy or sand bottom sea floors. The Giant cockle is found across the Indo-Pacific region, ranging from East African shores east to The northern Australian and New Zealand shoreline. They prefer moderately shallow water. Historically, Most cockle shell species have been a means of food for man as well as some predatory fish. This species has been known to reach 5 inches in size. The Giant Cockle is relatively common.

The picture shows the shape, color and unique markings of the Giant Cockle. The picture provides a good example of the complete bivalve shell top and matching bottom. These Cockles are sold as pairs, matching top and bottom of this bivalve.

L0-9

One Giant Cockle shell pair a matching top and bottom shell 4 4/8 inches or less......$2.25

NATURAL HEAVY COCKLE SHELL

The Heavy Cockle is a bivalve shell. This means the mollusk (animal inhabiting the shell) creates a top and matching bottom shell. The Heavy Cockle like the Giant Cockle shells move thru the water by using their long powerful foot. The foot allows them to several inches as they move across muddy or sand bottom sea floors. The Heavy Cockle is found across the Indo-Pacific region, ranging from East African shores east to The northern Australian and New Zealand shoreline. They prefer moderately shallow water. Historically, Most cockle shell species have been a means of food for man as well as some predatory fish. This species has been known to reach 5 inches in size. The Heavy Cockle is considered common.

These are bivalves and are sold with their matching top and bottom. Top and bottom are shipped sealed together.

W1-6

One Natural Heavy Cockle shell pair a matching top and bottom 4 3/8 inches or less......$3.50

NATURAL POLISHED COCKLE SHELL

The Heavy Cockle is a bivalve shell. This means the mollusk (animal inhabiting the shell) creates a top and matching bottom shell. The Heavy Cockle like the Giant Cockle shells move thru the water by using their long powerful foot. The foot allows them to several inches as they move across muddy or sand bottom sea floors. The Heavy Cockle is found across the Indo-Pacific region, ranging from East African shores east to The northern Australian and New Zealand shoreline. They prefer moderately shallow water. Historically, Most cockle shell species have been a means of food for man as well as some predatory fish. This species has been known to reach 5 inches in size. The Heavy Cockle is common.

These bivales are sold complete with their matching top and bottom sealed together.

J1-3

One Polished Heavy Cockle shell pair a matching top and bottom shell 4 3/8 inches or less...... $4.75

This Form cannot be submitted until the missing fields (labelled below in red) have been filled in
YOUR COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS ABOUT SHELLS OF AQUARIUS LISTINGS
Please note that all fields followed by an asterisk must be filled in.
First Name*
Last Name
E-Mail Address
Street Address
City
State/Prov
Zip/Postal Code
Country*	CountryUnited StatesCanada----------------AfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAmerican SamoaAndorraAngolaAnguillaAntarcticaAntiguaArgentinaArmeniaArubaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBermudaBhutanBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBouvet IslandBrazilBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryBritish Virgin IslandsBruneiBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCambodiaCameroonCape VerdeCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaChristmas IslandCocos IslandsColombiaComorosCongoCook IslandsCosta RicaCroatiaCubaCyprusCzech RepublicDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEast TimorEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaFalkland IslandsFaroe IslandsFijiFinlandFranceFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern TerritoriesGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGibraltarGreeceGreenlandGrenadaGrenadaGuamGuatemalaGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHeard and McDonald IslandsHondurasHong KongHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIranIraqIrelandIsraelItalyIvory CoastJamaicaJapanJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribadiNorth KoreaSouth KoreaKuwaitKyrgyzstanLaosLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacaoMacedoniaMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMarshall IslandsMartiniqueMauritaniaMauritiusMayotteMexicoFederated States of MicronesiaMoldovaMonacoMongoliaMontserratMoroccoMontenegroMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNetherlands AntillesNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNiueNorfolk IslandNorthern Mariana IslandsNorwayOmanPakistanPalauPanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPitcairn IslandPolandPortugalPuerto RicoQatarReunionRomaniaRussiaRwandaS. Georgia and S. Sandwich Isls.Saint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSamoaSan MarinoSao Tome and PrincipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSpainSri LankaSt. HelenaSt. Pierre and MiquelonSudanSurinameSvalbardSwazilandSwedenSwitzerlandSyriaTaiwanTajikistanTanzaniaThailandTogoTokelauTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanTurks and Caicos IslandsTuvaluU.S. Minor Outlying IslandsUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVatican CityVenezuelaVietnamUS Virgin IslandsWallis and Futuna IslandsWestern SaharaYemenYugoslavia (former)ZaireZambiaZimbabwe
Home Phone
Business Phone
YOUR QUESTION TO SHELLS OF AQUARIUS
Please enter the word that you see below.