Madao meat, a traditional Chinese medicine. It is the meat of bivalve mollusks such as the giant wedge clam and the short-ridged mussel. It is mainly found in Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, and other provinces. Let's take a closer look at the morphological characteristics of Madao meat!
1. Giant Wedge Clam
The giant wedge clam, also known as the old crow's beak or wedge clam, is one of the larger species of wedge clams. The shell is usually about 70mm long, 35mm high, and 25mm wide. The shell is thick and hard.
The anterior part of the shell is greatly swollen and rapidly narrows in height and width towards the back, giving it a triangular wedge shape. There is a depression behind the enlarged part of the shell, located approximately in the middle of the shell.
The apex of the shell is located at the anterior end of the dorsal margin, high and swollen, often eroded. The shell surface is brownish-brown with concentric growth lines.
The hinge is well-developed, with the left valve having 2 pseudo-cardinal teeth and 2 lateral teeth. The anterior pseudo-cardinal tooth is lamellar in shape, while the posterior pseudo-cardinal tooth is triangular in shape with fine cracks on the top. The 2 lateral teeth are slender and parallel. The right valve only has 1 triangular anterior pseudo-cardinal tooth and 1 lateral tooth, with traces of the posterior pseudo-cardinal tooth.
The giant wedge clam mostly inhabits lakes or rivers with muddy or sandy bottoms, especially in areas with swift currents. It feeds on small organisms and plant debris. It is distributed in Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, and other provinces.
2. Short-Ridged Mussel
The short-ridged mussel, also known as the long mussel or salt strip, has a shell that can reach up to 170mm in length, 44mm in height, and 39mm in width. The shell is thick, slightly swollen, asymmetrical on both sides, elongated, and shaped like a spear.
It is 4-5 times longer than its height. The top of the shell is slightly swollen and lower than the dorsal margin, often eroded. It is located near the front end, about 1/10 of the total length of the shell.
The anterior margin is bluntly rounded, the anterior dorsal margin is straight, the posterior dorsal margin gradually slopes downward at the half length of the shell, the ventral margin is straight, slightly concave in the middle, and the posterior margin is slightly rounded or angled. The small adductor muscle is well-developed.
The shell surface is grayish-brown with fine growth lines. There are arranged short and coarse granular longitudinal ridges between the growth lines in the middle of the shell. There are also saw-tooth-like longitudinal ridges at the apex of the shell, hence the name "short-ridged mussel".
The hinge is well-developed, with the left valve having 2 slightly triangular pseudo-cardinal teeth and 2 long-blade-like lateral teeth, while the right valve has 2 pseudo-cardinal teeth and 1 lateral tooth.
The short-ridged mussel inhabits rivers, lakes, and ponds with muddy or sandy bottoms. It is distributed in Heilongjiang, Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, and other provinces.
