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Cockle (bivalve)

 
Cockle (bivalve)

 
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Cockle (bivalve)
 
 
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Cockle is the common name
Common name

A common name is a name in general use within a community . A common name is not necessarily a commonly used name.Many of the conventions and traditions described in this article are based on the English language, and thus may not apply to common names in other languages....
 for a group of (mostly) small, edible, saltwater clams, marine
Marine (ocean)

Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology....
 bivalve mollusks in the family Cardiidae.

Various species
Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
 of cockles live in sandy sheltered beaches throughout the world.

The distinctive rounded shells of cockles are symmetrical, and are heart-shaped when viewed from the end. In most but not all genera
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
 there are numerous radial ribs. For an exception, see the genus Laevicardium, the egg cockles, which have very smooth shells.

The mantle
Mantle (mollusc)

The mantle is a significant part of the anatomy of molluscs: it is the dorsum body wall which covers the visceral mass.In many, but by no means all, species of molluscs, the Epidermis of the mantle secretes calcium carbonate and conchiolin, and creates a mollusc shell....
 has three apertures (inhalant, exhalant, and pedal) for siphoning water and for the foot to protrude.






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Encyclopedia


Cockle is the common name
Common name

A common name is a name in general use within a community . A common name is not necessarily a commonly used name.Many of the conventions and traditions described in this article are based on the English language, and thus may not apply to common names in other languages....
 for a group of (mostly) small, edible, saltwater clams, marine
Marine (ocean)

Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology....
 bivalve mollusks in the family Cardiidae.

Various species
Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
 of cockles live in sandy sheltered beaches throughout the world.

The distinctive rounded shells of cockles are symmetrical, and are heart-shaped when viewed from the end. In most but not all genera
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
 there are numerous radial ribs. For an exception, see the genus Laevicardium, the egg cockles, which have very smooth shells.

Cockle
The mantle
Mantle (mollusc)

The mantle is a significant part of the anatomy of molluscs: it is the dorsum body wall which covers the visceral mass.In many, but by no means all, species of molluscs, the Epidermis of the mantle secretes calcium carbonate and conchiolin, and creates a mollusc shell....
 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
Plankton

Plankton consist of any drifting organisms that inhabit the pelagic zone of oceans, seas, or bodies of fresh water. Plankton are defined by their ecological niche rather than their Phylogenetics or taxonomy classification....
 from the surrounding water.

Cockles are capable of 'jumping' by bending and straightening the foot.

Like many bivalves, cockles are hermaphroditic and some species reach maturity quickly.
Morecambe Bay Cockle Picking




Selected genera

  • Acanthocardia
  • Americardia
  • Cardium
  • Cerastoderma
    Cerastoderma

    Cerastoderma is a genus of marine bivalves, which includes the common cockle C. edule....
  • Clinocardium
  • Corculum
    Corculum

    Corculum is a genus of small saltwater clams, marine bivalve molluscs in the family Cardiidae, the cockles....
  • Ctenocardia
  • Dinocardium
  • Discors
  • Fragum
  • Fulvia
  • Hypanis Pander in Menetries, 1832
  • Laevicardium
  • Lophocardiium
  • Lunulicardia
  • Lyrocardium
  • Microcardium
  • Nemocardium
  • Papyridea
  • Parvicardium
  • Plagiocardium
  • Pratulum
    Pratulum

    Pratulum is a genus of marine bivalve molluscs in the family Cardiidae....
  • Ringicardium
  • Serripes
  • Trachycardium
  • Trigoniocardia


Species

There are more than 200 living species of cockles, with many more fossil forms.

The common cockle, Cerastoderma edule
Common cockle

The common cockle, Cerastoderma edule, is a species of edible saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Cardiidae, the cockles....
, is widely distributed around the coastlines of Northern Europe
Northern Europe

Northern Europe is the northern part or region of Europe. The United Nations defines Northern Europe as including the following countries and dependent regions:...
 with a range extending west to Ireland
Ireland

Ireland is the List of islands by area in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islet....
, the Barents Sea
Barents Sea

The Barents Sea is a part of the Arctic Ocean located north of Norway and Russia. It is a rather deep Continental shelf sea , bordered by the shelf edge towards the Norwegian Sea in the west, the island of Svalbard in the northwest, and the islands of Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya in the northeast and east....
 in the north, Norway
Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a constitutional monarchy in Northern Europe that occupies the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula....
 in the east, and as far south as Senegal
Senegal

Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal, is a country south of the S?n?gal River in West Africa. Senegal is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Mauritania to the north, Mali to the east, and Guinea and Guinea-Bissau to the south....
.

The dog cockle
Dog cockle

The dog cockle or European bittersweet, Glycymeris glycymeris, is a species of marine clam, a coastal bivalve mollusc of European waters....
, Glycymeris glycymeris, has a similar range and habitat to the common cockle, but is unrelated. It is inedible due to its toughness when cooked, although a process is being developed to solve this.

The blood cockle
Blood cockle

Anadara granosa is a species of Arcidae known as the blood cockle. It is found throughout the Indo-Pacific region from eastern Africa to Australia to Polynesia to Japan....
, Anadara granosa (not related to the true cockles, instead in the family Arcidae) is extensively cultured from southern Korea
Korea

Korea is a geographic area composed of two sovereign countries, a civilization, and a former state situated on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia....
 to Malaysia
Malaysia

Malaysia is a federation that consists of States of Malaysia in Southeast Asia with a total landmass of . The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government....
.

An example of group of true cockles that have shells which are completely smooth, without ribs, is the genus Laevicardium. These are often known as egg cockles.

In cuisine and culture

Cockles are a popular type of edible shellfish
Shellfish

Shellfish is a culinary and fisheries term for exoskeleton bearing aquatic invertebrate used as food, including various species of Molluscas, crustaceans, and echinoderms....
 in both Eastern and Western cooking
Cooking

Cooking is the process of preparing food by applying heat, selecting, measuring and combining of ingredients in an ordered procedure for producing safe and edible food....
. They are still collected, as they have been since time immemorial
Time immemorial

Time immemorial is a phrase meaning time extending beyond the reach of memory, record, or tradition. The implication is that the subject referred to is, or can be regarded as, indefinitely ancient....
, by raking them from the sands at low tide. However, the labour of collecting cockles is hard work and, as seen from the Morecambe Bay disaster
2004 Morecambe Bay cockling disaster

The Morecambe Bay cockling disaster occurred on the evening of the 5 February 2004 in North West England, United Kingdom when at least 21 Cockle pickers were drowned by the incoming tide off the coast of Lancashire/ Cumbria in Morecambe Bay....
, in which 21 illegal immigrants died, can be dangerous if local tidal conditions are not carefully watched.

Cockles are sold freshly cooked as a snack in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
, particularly around the parts of the British coastline which are inhabited by cockles. Boiled then seasoned with malt vinegar and white pepper
Black pepper

Black pepper is a flowering plant vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning....
, they can be bought from seafood stalls, alongside mussels, whelk
Whelk

A whelk is one of several species of large sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks found in temperate waters.In North America, the word whelk is used for "busycon whelks", several species of large, usually edible Busycon snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Melongenidae....
s, jellied eels, crab
Crab

Crabs are Decapoda crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax....
s and shrimps. Cockles are also available pickled in jars, and more recently, have been sold in sealed packets (with vinegar) containing a plastic two-pronged fork. A meal of cockles fried with bacon
Bacon

Bacon is a cut of meat taken from the sides, belly, or back of a pig, then Curing , Smoking , or both. Meat from other animals, such as beef, Lamb and mutton, chicken, goat, or turkey , may also be cut, cured, or otherwise prepared to resemble bacon....
, served with laver bread, is known as a traditional Welsh breakfast.

Boiled cockles (sometimes grilled) are sold at many hawker centers in South East Asia, and are used in laksa
Laksa

Laksa is a popular spicy noodle soup from Peranakan culture also known as Baba and Nyonya, which is a merger of Chinese Cuisine and Cuisine of Malaysia elements found in Malaysia and Singapore....
, char kway teow
Char kway teow

Char kway teow, literally "fried flat noodles", is a popular noodle dish in Malaysia and Singapore. The dish is made from Shahe fen of width approximately 1 cm or slightly narrower, stir fried over very high heat with light and dark soy sauce, chile pepper, prawns, cockle s, egg , mung bean and garlic chives....
 and steamboat (food)
Steamboat (food)

Steamboats refer to a variety of dishes eaten throughout East Asia, where ingredients are cooked in a simmering pot of broth at the table, usually communally, similar to a fondue....
.

Consumption of raw cockles has been linked to hepatitis
Hepatitis

Hepatitis implies injury to the liver characterized by the presence of inflammatory cell s in the Tissue of the organ. The name is from ancient Greek hepar , the root being hepat- , meaning liver, and suffix -itis, meaning "inflammation" ....
.

Cockles are an effective bait for a wide variety of sea fishes.

The folk song Molly Malone
Molly Malone

"Molly Malone" is a popular song, set in Dublin, Ireland, which has become the unofficial anthem of Dublin City. It has also in Ireland acquired the status of an Irish anthem....
 is also known as Cockles and Mussels because the titular character's sale of the two foods is referenced in the song's refrain.

Alternate meanings

The now relatively uncommon English
English language

English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
 phrase 'it warms the cockles of my heart', is used to signify that a feeling of deep-seated contentment is triggered.

A number of differing derivations of this phrase have been proposed, either directly from the perceived heart-shape of a cockleshell, or indirectly (the scientific name for the type genus of the family is Cardium, from the Greek for heart), or from the Latin diminutive of the word heart, corculum. Another proposed derivation is from the Latin for the ventricles of the heart, cochleae cordis, where the second word is an inflected form of cor, heart, while cochlea is the Latin for snail.

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