The Common Jingle and its Byssus

Widespread on the beaches of Southwest Florida, Common Jingles (Anomia simplex) appear in many colors. In the jingle family Anomiidae, the top shell valve is whole, while the bottom one has an opening.

Common Jingle. On right, two jingles inside a Giant Cockle valve.

Like mussels and some other bivalves, jingles are attached to hard surfaces by a byssus, which originates from a gland in the foot. In jingles, that opening on the bottom valve lets the byssus pass through the shell before attaching to the host surface.

Common Jingle byssus on a Ponderous Ark valve.

In mussels and other bivalves, the byssus usually is made up of strong and elastic protein fibers. The Common Jingle byssus, however, is hard, shell-like (bottom photos), consisting of a blend of calcium carbonate and a little protein that results in a tough, super-strong composite material.  

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