Labelling a cockle/tuangi

The New Zealand cockle, also known as tuaki or tuangi, is endemic to Aotearoa New Zealand’s coastal areas. They are filter feeders and are well adapted to their preferred habitat of soft mud and fine sand in subtidal areas. The article Adapting to marine habitats has helpful background information on structural, physiological and behavioural adaptations.

In this activity, students use online and/or paper resources to identify and label parts of a cockle/tuangi.

By the end of this activity, students should be able to:

• identify and label some of the structures of a cockle/tuangi

• consider the function of these structures

• discuss how these functions help the cockle/tuangi survive

• use literacy skills to learn about and discuss the functions of the structures.

Download the Word file (see link below).