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Science 20 November 1981:
Vol. 214. no. 4523, pp. 911 - 913
DOI: 10.1126/science.214.4523.911
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Articles

Growth of Bivalves at Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vents Along the Galápagos Rift

DONALD C. RHOADS 1, RICHARD A. LUTZ 2, EUGENE C. REVELAS 3, and ROBERT M. CERRATO 4

1 Department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520
2 Department of Oyster Culture, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, Cook College, Rutgers University, New Brunswick 08903
3 Department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University
4 Marine Sciences Research Center, State University of New York, Stony Brook 11794

Direct measurements of shell growth of an unclassified mussel from active hydrothermal vents along the Galápagos Rift reveal growth rates of approxmately 1 centimeter per year for mature specimens. The largest mussel collected (with shell length of 18.4 centimeters) was estimated to be 19 ± 7 years old at the time of sampling. Recorded growth rates are among the highest documented for deep-sea species.

Submitted on April 9, 1981
Revised on September 15, 1981


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Ecology of Mid-Atlantic Ridge hydrothermal vents.
C. L. v. Dover (1995)
Geological Society, London, Special Publications 87, 257-294
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)