Kawai Nui Marsh / reef sediment cores / bivalves

Skeletal remains from reef layer sediment cores
taken in Kawai Nui Marsh, O`ahu

Page 2

MOLLUSCA, BIVALVIA (clams, mussels)

Trachycardium orbita
  The large cockle, Trachycardium orbita, grows to a few inches in length and only shell fragments are shown here. This bivalve is typically found in shallow water inside the fringing reef.

  Tellina (Quidnipagus) palatam is a clam found buried in silty sand of the inner reef shallows. It is a common inhabitant of Kane`ohe Bay.

Isognomon californicum
  The toothed pearl shell, Isognomon californicum (from Hawai`i, not California), lives in dense beds found at the tide line in brackish water, although some individuals live at the shore in more saline settings.

Chama fibula
  The rock oyster, Chama fibula, has a distinctive right (upper) valve when young, but this becomes very thick and encrusted as the animal grows and ages. Uncommon

  Semelangulus crebrimaculatus.

Brachidontes crebristriatus
  This small mussel (Brachidontes crebristriatus) is especially common on limestone shores, growing at the zero tide level. Shell size (larger, thinner) and sculpturing (less) can indicate growth close to brackish water input (Kay, 1979).

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	Skeletal remains from reef layer sediment cores taken in Kawai Nui Marsh, O`ahu	Page 2
	MOLLUSCA, BIVALVIA (clams, mussels)
		The large cockle, Trachycardium orbita, grows to a few inches in length and only shell fragments are shown here. This bivalve is typically found in shallow water inside the fringing reef.
	Tellina (Quidnipagus) palatam is a clam found buried in silty sand of the inner reef shallows. It is a common inhabitant of Kane`ohe Bay.
		The toothed pearl shell, Isognomon californicum (from Hawai`i, not California), lives in dense beds found at the tide line in brackish water, although some individuals live at the shore in more saline settings.
		The rock oyster, Chama fibula, has a distinctive right (upper) valve when young, but this becomes very thick and encrusted as the animal grows and ages. Uncommon
		Semelangulus crebrimaculatus.
		This small mussel (Brachidontes crebristriatus) is especially common on limestone shores, growing at the zero tide level. Shell size (larger, thinner) and sculpturing (less) can indicate growth close to brackish water input (Kay, 1979).