Goolwa cockle
| Plebidonax deltoides | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Bivalvia |
| Order: | Veneroida |
| Superfamily: | Tellinoidea |
| Family: | Donacidae |
| Genus: | Plebidonax |
| Species: | P. deltoides |
| Binomial name | |
|
Plebidonax deltoides Lamarck, 1818 |
|
| Synonyms | |
|
Donax deltoides |
|
Donax deltoides
Plebidonax deltoides (previously Donax deltoides) is a small, edible saltwater clam or marine bivalve mollusc of the family Donacidae, endemic to Australia. It is most widely known as the pipi in the eastern states of its native Australia, and as the Goolwa cockle or Coorong cockle in South Australia; in south-eastern Queensland, it is often also known as eugarie or (y)ugari, a borrowing from the local Yugarabul language.
This species should not be confused with the bivalve Paphies australis (of the family Mesodesmatidae), endemic to New Zealand and also called "pipi".
P. deltoides is an edible bivalve mollusc primarily found from the Eyre Peninsula to Kingston in South Australia and from Tasmania to Fraser Island in Queensland, with Younghusband Peninsula (Coorong Beach) in South Australian the site of the largest stock abundance in Australia, where they make up 85% of the total biomass. The Sir Richard Peninsula (Goolwa Beach) and Younghusband Peninsula sand dunes are composed mainly of P. deltoides shell sediments that have formed over the last 6,600 years.
P. deltoides live on high-energy beaches, the juveniles in the intertidal and the adults in the subtidal zone. They use a strong foot to bury into the sand to an average depth of 100 mm and feed by filtering phytoplankton from the water. They mature at around one year of age and live from four to five years, reaching a maximum size of 80 mm. They are dioecious serial broadcast spawners, with spawning taking place over a long period of time peaking in the spring. Larvae drift as plankton for four to eight weeks in the coastal currents, often travelling large distances. They need heavy surf to live, as the surf concentrates the phytoplankton they feed on and increases the oxygen in the water; after periods of calm weather, they begin to die off.
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Wikipedia