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ABSTRACT NEW observations, both in the marine environment and in the laboratory, indicate that the byssus in young post-larval bivalves has a hitherto unsuspected function—that of dispersal.

The method of transport is analogous to the gossamer flight of young spiders. In the laboratory, small scale currents will induce the secretion of what seems to be a single long thread

which, by increasing the viscous drag exerted on the young bivalves, enables them to be carried along on relatively small currents. The threads, which stain readily in Alcian blue (a stain

selective for acid mucopolysaccharides) are typically long compared with the length scale of the animal itself: for instance an _Abra_ 1 mm long can produce a 2–4-µm diameter thread of

length greater than 3 cm. This mechanism, which we term byssus drifting, is functional from the late pediveliger stage up to at least 2.5 mm size in some species, and it has been found to be

present in the 20 species tested so far and listed in Table 1 (a functional byssus has not been reported previously1 in post-larval bivalves of those genera marked with an asterisk). Access

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SIMILAR CONTENT BEING VIEWED BY OTHERS VERTICAL DISTRIBUTION OF BRITTLE STAR LARVAE IN TWO CONTRASTING COASTAL EMBAYMENTS: IMPLICATIONS FOR LARVAL TRANSPORT Article Open access 21 July 2020

THE ROLE OF SUCTION THRUST IN THE METACHRONAL PADDLES OF SWIMMING INVERTEBRATES Article Open access 20 October 2020 HYDRODYNAMICS OF THE FAST-START CARIDOID ESCAPE RESPONSE IN ANTARCTIC

KRILL, _EUPHAUSIA SUPERBA_ Article Open access 02 April 2023 REFERENCES * Yonge, C. M., _J. Mar. biol. Ass. U.K._, 42, 113–125 (1962). Article  Google Scholar  * Bayne, B. L., _J. Anim.

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AFFILIATIONS * Department of Zoology, Dove Marine Laboratory, JON BALDUR SIGURDSSON * Institute of Lunar and Planetary Science, School of Physics, University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne,

Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK C. W. TITMAN & PETER A. DAVIES Authors * JON BALDUR SIGURDSSON View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * C.

W. TITMAN View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * PETER A. DAVIES View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google

Scholar RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE SIGURDSSON, J., TITMAN, C. & DAVIES, P. The dispersal of young post-larval bivalve molluscs

by byssus threads. _Nature_ 262, 386–387 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1038/262386a0 Download citation * Received: 11 May 1976 * Accepted: 16 June 1976 * Published: 01 July 1976 * Issue Date:

29 July 1976 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/262386a0 SHARE THIS ARTICLE Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: Get shareable link Sorry, a shareable link

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