Citation: Seed, R. 1977 A curious association - periwinkles and saddle-oysters. Irish Naturalists' Journal 19: 8-9
Number of Pages: 2
Volume Part: 1
Keywords: Ecology, Fauna, Littoral, Marine, Marine Inlet, Mollusca
Abstract: This short report discusses the unusual but apparently not uncommon association between saddle-oyster, Anomia ephippium and the periwinkle Littorina littorea in Strangford Lough. Saddle-oysters which either settle on winkles at higher tidal levels or which are carried there by the migratory behaviour of their 'hosts' are smaller and tend to be in relatively poorer condition than those which attach to more stable substrata. A difference in shell morphology is also noted.