Date shell
Lithophaga lithophaga (Linnaeus, 1758)
Status not recordedmolluscs
The date shell (Lithophaga lithophaga) is a species in the family Mytilidae, order Mytilida.
No freely licensed photo yet
Quick facts about the date shell
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Conservation status
- Not recorded
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the date shell live?
Not recorded
Is the date shell endangered?
No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.
How is the date shell classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumMollusca
- classBivalvia
- orderMytilida
- familyMytilidae
- genusLithophaga
- SpeciesLithophaga lithophaga (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Lithodomus dactylus, Lithodomus inflatus, Lithodomus lithophagus, Lithodomus lithophagus var. minor, Lithophaga bella, Lithophaga lithoglypha, Lithophaga mytuloides, Lithophagus communis, Lithophagus lithophagus, Mytilus lithophagus, Mytilus lythophagus
Other names and names in other languages (36)
- Date musselEnglish
- European date musselEnglish
- Малък каменопробивачBulgarian
- datlovka vrtaváCzech
- SeedattelGerman
- ΒάλανοςGreek
- dátil de marSpanish
- date de merFrench
- prstenjakCroatian
- sziklafúró kagylóHungarian
- dattero di mareItalian
- akmengraužisLithuanian
- ZeedadelDutch
- daddelmuslingNorwegian
- камнеточецRussian
- zátuľník dlabavýSlovak
- morski dateljSlovenian
- midhja hurmëAlbanian
- taş midyesiTurkish
- Морський фінікUkrainian
- mаlak kаmenoprobivаchBulgarian
- DattelmuschelGerman
- Europäische SteindattelGerman
- SteindattelGerman
- ΛιθοδόμοςGreek
- ΠετροσωλήναςGreek
- ΧουρμάςGreek
- Datte de merFrench
- datte lithophage d'EuropeFrench
- DadelmosselDutch
- Europese dadelmosselDutch
- steenmosselDutch
- Обыкновенная литофагаRussian
- или морской финикRussian
- deniz midyesiTurkish
- yeşil ağaç salyangozuTurkish
Relatives of the date shell
Other species in the same genus Lithophaga.
Giant datemussel
Lithophaga antillarum
Black datemussel
Lithophaga nigra
Black date mussel
Lithophaga teres
Rock eater
Lithophaga robusta
CompareDate shell vs Giant datemusselDate shell vs Black datemusselDate shell vs Black date musselDate shell vs Rock eater
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
What kind of animal is the date shell?
The date shell (Lithophaga lithophaga) belongs to the family Mytilidae in the order Mytilida.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
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Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AmphiBIO, a global database for amphibian ecological traits · CC BY 4.0 · v1
Oliveira, B.F., São-Pedro, V.A., Santos-Barrera, G., Penone, C. & Costa, G.C. (2017) AmphiBIO, a global database for amphibian ecological traits. Scientific Data 4: 170123. https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2017.123. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.4644424.v5 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - LepTraits 1.0: a globally comprehensive dataset of butterfly traits · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Shirey, V., Larsen, E., Doherty, A. et al. (2022) LepTraits 1.0: a globally comprehensive dataset of butterfly traits. Scientific Data 9: 382. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-022-01473-5. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.19874602.v1 - Northwestern European arthropod life histories and ecological traits (raw datasets) · CC BY 4.0 · 2024-12-17
Logghe, G., Batsleer, F., Maes, D. et al. (2025) An in-depth dataset of northwestern European arthropod life histories and ecological traits. Biodiversity Data Journal 13: e146785. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.13.e146785. Data: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13379714 - ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles · CC BY 4.0 · v1-2
Oskyrko, O., Mi, C., Meiri, S. et al. (2024) ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles. Scientific Data 11: 243. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-03079-5. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4 - Sharkipedia: a curated open access database of shark and ray life history traits · CC BY 4.0 · 1.0-2022-06-17
Mull, C.G., Pacoureau, N., Pardo, S.A. et al. (2022) Sharkipedia: a curated open access database of shark and ray life history traits and abundance time-series. Scientific Data 9: 559. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-022-01655-1. Data: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6656525 - SquamBase 1.0 - a dataset of squamate species traits · CC0 1.0 · 1.0-dryad-v5
Meiri, S. (2024) SquamBase - a database of squamate (Reptilia: Squamata) traits. Global Ecology and Biogeography 33(4): e13812. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13812. Data: https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.76hdr7t3b - TraitCH: a multi-taxa functional trait dataset for Switzerland and Europe · CC BY 4.0 · 2.0
Chauvier, Y., Adde, A., Bergamini, A. et al. (2025) TraitCH: a multi-taxa functional trait dataset for Switzerland and Europe. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15063844 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
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Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Date shell (Lithophaga lithophaga). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/date-shell
“Date shell (Lithophaga lithophaga).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/date-shell.
@misc{date_shell_2026,
title = {Date shell (Lithophaga lithophaga)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/date-shell},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}