81.153.113.189: Tiny grammar fix

2024-09-14T13:10:54Z

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{{Short description|Species of bivalve}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Razor shell
| image = Ensiskils.jpg
| genus = Ensis
| species = magnus
| authority = [[Heinrich Christian Friedrich Schumacher|Schumacher]], 1817
| display_parents = 3
| synonyms =
*''Ensis arcuatus'' <small>([[John Gwyn Jeffreys|Jeffreys]], 1865)</small>
*''Ensis arcuatus'' var. ''ensoides'' <small>Van Urk, 1964</small>
*''Ensis arcuatus'' var. ''norvegica'' <small>Van Urk, 1964</small>
*''Solen siliqua'' var. ''arcuata'' <small>Jeffreys, 1865</small>
| synonyms_ref = <ref name="WoRMS">{{cite web |year=2018 |title= ''Ensis magnus'' Schumacher, 1817 |work=MolluscaBase |publisher=[[World Register of Marine Species]] |url=http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=160539 |access-date=April 25, 2018}}</ref>
}}

The '''razor shell''', ''Ensis magnus'', also called '''razor clam''', '''razor fish'''<ref>{{Cite web|title=Razor Fish Recipes
|url=https://simplechinesefood.com/ingredient/razor-fish|access-date=2022-06-02|website=Simple Chinese Food|language=en-US}}</ref> or '''spoot''' (colloquially), is a [[bivalve]] of the family [[Pharidae]]. It is found on sandy beaches in Canada and northern [[Europe]] (north of the [[Bay of Biscay]]).

In some locations, the [[common name]] "razor shell" is also used to refer to members of the family [[Solenidae]], including species of the genera ''[[Ensis]]'' and ''[[Solen (genus)|Solen]]'',<ref name=Breen>{{cite journal|last=Breen|first=Mike |author2=Trevor Howe |author3=Phil Copland|title=A REPORT ON ELECTRICAL FISHING FOR RAZOR CLAMS (ENSIS SP.) AND ITS LIKELY EFFECTS ON THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT|journal=Marine Scotland Science Report 03/11|date=February 2011|page=11|url=http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/295194/0113795.pdf|access-date=24 January 2014|publisher=Marine Scotland Science Marine Laboratory}}</ref> by some taxonomic classifications which include the family Pharidae within the family Solenidae. It prefers coarser sand than its relatives ''[[Ensis ensis|E. ensis]]'' and ''[[Ensis siliqua|E. siliqua]]''.

==Description==
It is known for its elongated, rectangular shape, which presents a similarity to the [[straight razor]], hence its name. The razor shell has been known to reach {{convert|23|cm|in|frac=2}}<ref> {{Cite web |url=http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a89/Superflid/razor.jpg |title=Large specimen |work=photobucket.com |access-date=8 September 2023}}</ref> in length. The [[Dorsum (biology)|dorsal]] margin is straight while the [[ventral]] margin is curved. It can easily be confused with the slightly shorter {{convert|15|cm|in|frac=2}} and more curved ''E. ensis'' (in which both front and back are curved in parallel).

Razor shells have a fragile shell, with open ends. The shell is smooth on the outside and whitish in color, with vertical and horizontal reddish-brown or purplish-brown markings separated by a diagonal line. The [[periostracum]] is olive-green. The inner surface is white with a purple tinge and the [[Foot (mollusc)#Anatomy|foot]] is creamy white with brown lines.

<div align=center>
Right and left valve of the same specimen:
<gallery mode="packed" length="400">
File:Ensis magnus 01.jpg|Right valve
File:Ensis magnus 02.jpg|Left valve
</gallery>
</div align=center>

===Habits===
The razor shell lives under the sand, using its powerful foot to dig to a safe depth. Its digging activity comprises six stages, repeated cyclically. A digging cycle involves integration of the muscular foot (which takes up a large part of the body) with the opening and closing of the valve and one end. The foot is inflated [[hydraulic]]ally, extending down into the sand and anchoring the animal. Deflation of the foot then draws the shell down. The razor shell also squirts water down into the sand, removing loose sand from its path. The foot is thought to exert a pressure of about {{convert|196|kPa|kgf/cm2 psi}}.<ref>{{cite journal |author=E. R. Trueman |year=1967 |title=The dynamics of burrowing in ''Ensis'' (Bivalvia) |journal=[[Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B]] |volume=166 |issue=1005 |pages=459–476 |jstor=75643|doi=10.1098/rspb.1967.0007 |pmid=24796040 |bibcode=1967RSPSB.166..459T |s2cid=46008789 }}</ref>

Its presence is revealed by a keyhole-shaped hole in the sand, made by its [[Siphon (mollusc)|siphons]] during [[suspension feeding]] for [[plankton]].

Razor clams can grow up to eight inches long, but are typically only four to six inches. Razor clams are [[filter feeders]], meaning they strain food particles from the water around them. They primarily eat microscopic [[algae]], but can also consume small [[Crustacean|crustaceans]] and other organic matter.

===Reproduction===
In the razor shell sexual development is highly synchronous. During the summer, they are in the sexual rest stage, and [[gametogenesis]] begins at the start of autumn. In winter and spring consecutive spawns take place, interrupted by gonadal restoration periods.<ref name="Darriba">{{cite journal |author=Susana Darriba, Fuencisla San Juan & Alejandro Guerra |year=2004 |title=Reproductive cycle of the razor clam ''Ensis arcuatus'' (Jeffreys, 1865) in northwest Spain and its relation to environmental conditions |journal=[[Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology]] |volume=311 |issue=1 |pages=101–115 |doi=10.1016/j.jembe.2004.05.004|bibcode=2004JEMBE.311..101D }}</ref>

==Vulnerability==
[[File:Stired-fried Razor Clams with Black Beans and Pepper.jpg|thumb|A Chinese dish of stir-fried razor clams]]
Many [[Littoral zone|intertidal]] populations of razor shell have declined as a result of [[overfishing]]; the species is in decline in many areas.{{cn|date=September 2024}}

Razor shells are very sensitive to minor perturbations in, for instance, [[salinity]] and [[temperature]]. They will emerge from their burrows if salt or [[brine]] is poured in.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://eatdrinktalk.squarespace.com/May27th2008/ |title=Emerging from their burrows |access-date=2008-12-08 |archive-date=2010-10-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101020052629/http://eatdrinktalk.squarespace.com/May27th2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Disease===
Razor shells have been found to be vulnerable to [[germinoma]], a variety of [[tumour]].<ref name="Darriba"/>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* [http://www.seawater.no/fauna/Blotdyr/knivskjell.htm Razor shells in Norway]
* [http://www.ingentaconnect.com/search/expand?pub=infobike://ap/jm/1998/00000055/00000005/art00356&unc= Effect of dredging on razor shell populations]

{{Edible molluscs}}
{{Taxonbar|from1=Q3802489|from2=Q2248806}}

[[Category:Pharidae]]
[[Category:Marine molluscs of Europe]]
[[Category:Marine molluscs of North America]]
[[Category:Molluscs of the Atlantic Ocean]]
[[Category:Molluscs described in 1865]]

Razor shell - Revision history

81.153.113.189: Tiny grammar fix