TANABE, Kazushige (Geological Institute, University of Tokyo). 1988. An attempt for age estimation of bivalves, using shell growth lines. Benthos Research (Bull. Jap. Assoc. Benthology), 32 : 12-17.
Growth lines of different magnitudes are commonly observed in the skeltons of invertebrates. Of these, annual increments may be most important for life history analysis of modern and extinct organisms. They are easily recognized by reading the growth records (= sclerochronology) in marked and recovered individuals. Detailed methods for age and growth rate determinations are described for a venerid bivalve, Phacosoma japonicum (Reeve) inhabiting the coast of the Seto Inland Sea, with remarks on their ecological and paleoecological implications.