Ark clam | |
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Shell specimens of Anadara antiquata | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Mollusca |
Class: | Bivalvia |
Order: | Arcida |
Superfamily: | Arcoidea |
Family: | Arcidae Lamarck, 1809 |
Genera | |
See text |
Ark clam is the common name for a family of small to large-sized saltwater clams or marine bivalve molluscs in the family Arcidae. Generally less than 80 mm long, ark clams vary both in shape and size. They number about 200 species worldwide. [1]
The group is known as "ark shells" because species such as Arca have a large flat area between the umbones which, in an undamaged shell, somewhat resembles a deck, with the rest of the shell perhaps illustrating an ancient wooden boat such as Noah's ark is thought to have been.
The thick, ridged shells of ark clams are often white, cream or tan, [1] but in some species, the shell is striped with, tinted with, or completely colored, a rich brown. In life the shell of most species has a top shell layer that is thick brown periostracum affixed to the harder calcareous part of the shell. In some species such as Barbatia , this outer horny covering is tufted at the end of the shell into something that resembles a beard, hence the name Barbatia or bearded one. The thick outer skin or periostracum of an ark clam can act as camouflage, such that the shells can sometimes look like stones when lying on the bottom.
All ark shells have a long straight hinge line with a single row of numerous small and unspecialized "teeth". This is known as a "taxodont dentition" and represents an ancient ancestor. This kind of hinge line is also found in the bivalve families Glycymerididae, Nuculidae and Nuculanidae.
Ark clams are distinct from other clams in having red blood pigments (hemoglobin) that facilitate the transport of oxygen to their tissues and enable them to inhabit more hypoxic environments. [1]
Ark clams reach reproductive maturity when they are about twelve months old and about 20 mm long. The spawning cycle typically begins in the rainy season. Ark Clams are broadcast spawners, that is, eggs and sperm are released into open water where fertilization occurs. The fertilized eggs develop rapidly into planktonic larvae that drift with ocean currents for eight to ten days during which 99.9% of the larvae are consumed or perish. Eventually the survivors settle to suitable sites of the sea floor where they develop into juvenile clams. Only one percent of these juveniles will survive to become a mature adult. Ark Clams have a maximum life span of about six years. [1]
Arc Clams are edible mollusks that have been consumed since pre-historic times and are still consumed today. Numerous recipes for arc clams have been published. Recreational foragers should follow seafood safety guidelines and shellfish harvesting restrictions, and should be aware of any harmful algal blooms that may contaminate shellfish with biotoxins. Shellfish collected in urban areas should not be eaten raw.
Tegillarca granosa was used as a food by Indigenous peoples living on the northern Australian coastline through at least the past ~4500 years, with extensive evidence preserved in the form of shell mound sites. [2] Large ark clams, such as Arca zebra , are commonly used as bait, as well as food, throughout the Caribbean. In Japan, red Ark clams, called Akagai, are used in sushi or sashimi. [3] Some ark clams species, such as the blood cockle ( Anadara granosa , a.k.a. Tegillarca granosa ) are raised in aquaculture, e.g. in the estuaries of China's Fujian coast. [4] In the U.S. limited quantities of wild ark clams have been harvested in North Carolina and Virginia for ethnic markets and aquaculture has been explored. [5]
In the south Pacific region, Ark clams are still gathered by indigenous people as an important subsistence food. Ark clams are harvested, mostly by women, by gleaning intertidal zones. [1] To maintain the Ark Clam fishery, several communities in Fiji are imposing a minimum size limit of 3 cm, closures during spawning periods, and establishing "no-take" areas. [1]
Genera within the family Arcidae include:
Clam is a common name for several kinds of bivalve molluscs. The word is often applied only to those that are edible and live as infauna, spending most of their lives halfway buried in the sand of the seafloor or riverbeds. Clams have two shells of equal size connected by two adductor muscles and have a powerful burrowing foot. They live in both freshwater and marine environments; in salt water they prefer to burrow down into the mud and the turbidity of the water required varies with species and location; the greatest diversity of these is in North America.
Mussel is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other edible clams, which are often more or less rounded or oval.
Bivalvia, in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of marine and freshwater molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hinged parts. As a group, bivalves have no head and they lack some usual molluscan organs, like the radula and the odontophore. The class includes the clams, oysters, cockles, mussels, scallops, and numerous other families that live in saltwater, as well as a number of families that live in freshwater. The majority are filter feeders. The gills have evolved into ctenidia, specialised organs for feeding and breathing. Most bivalves bury themselves in sediment, where they are relatively safe from predation. Others lie on the sea floor or attach themselves to rocks or other hard surfaces. Some bivalves, such as the scallops and file shells, can swim. Shipworms bore into wood, clay, or stone and live inside these substances.
A cockle is an edible marine bivalve mollusc. Although many small edible bivalves are loosely called cockles, true cockles are species in the family Cardiidae.
The hard clam, also known as the round clam, hard-shellclam, or the quahog, is an edible marine bivalve mollusk that is native to the eastern shores of North America and Central America from Prince Edward Island to the Yucatán Peninsula. It is one of many unrelated edible bivalves that in the United States are frequently referred to simply as clams. Older literature sources may use the systematic name Venus mercenaria; this species is in the family Veneridae, the venus clams.
Barbatia is a genus of "bearded" ark clams, marine bivalve mollusks in the family Arcidae, the ark clams.
Anadara is a genus of saltwater bivalves, ark clams, in the family Arcidae. It is also called Scapharca.
The Atlantic surf clam, also called the bar clam, hen clam, skimmer or simply sea clam, is a very large, edible, saltwater clam or marine bivalve mollusk in the family Mactridae. It is one of the most commonly found species of bivalves in the western Atlantic Ocean. Able to reach sizes between 7.9 and 8.9 inches in length, Atlantic surf clams are much larger than Spisula solida, which also resides in the eastern Atlantic coastal waters. Atlantic surf clams reproduce in late summer, when the water temperatures peak.
Tegillarca granosa is a species of ark clam known as the blood cockle or blood clam due to the red haemoglobin liquid inside the soft tissues. It is found throughout the Indo-Pacific region from the eastern coast of South Africa northwards and eastwards to Southeast Asia, Australia, Polynesia, and up to northern Japan. It lives mainly in the intertidal zone at one to two metres water depth, burrowed down into sand or mud. Adult size is about 5 to 6 cm long and 4 to 5 cm wide.
Arca is a genus of edible saltwater clams in the family Arcidae, the Ark Clams.
Arca imbricata, or the Mossy ark clam, is a clam in the family Arcidae. It can be found along the Atlantic coast of North America, ranging from North Carolina to the West Indies, Brazil, and Bermuda.
Arca zebra, or the turkey wing ark clam, is a bivalve mollusc in the family Arcidae, the ark clams.
Barbatia cancellaria, or the Red-brown ark clam, is a clam in the family Arcidae. It can be found along the Atlantic coast of North America, ranging from Florida to the West Indies.
Barbatia domingensis, or the White miniature ark clam, was for many years a name that was commonly used for a marine clam in the family Arcidae.
Arca noae or the Noah's Ark shell is a species of bivalve mollusc in the family Arcidae. It is found in the Mediterranean Sea from low tide mark to a depth of 60 metres (200 ft).
Anadara kagoshimensis is an ark clam in the family Arcidae. It can be found in shallow water in temperate parts of the west Pacific Ocean and is cultivated in China, Japan, and Korea for human consumption. It is known as maohan in China and salubowgai(mogai) in Japan.
Barbatia barbata is a species of ark clam, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Arcidae, the ark clams.
Tegillarca is a genus of molluscs of the family Arcidae, the Ark clams.
Anadara broughtonii is a species of Ark clam. It is also know by its Japanese name, akagai.The species was described by Shrenck in 1867. Originally belonging to the genus Scapharca, the genus has merged with Anadara now.
Barbatia reeveana, the low-rib ark or common Reeve's ark, is a species of bivalve mollusc. It was first described to science by Alcide d'Orbigny in 1846. It seems likely that the species is named for Lovell Augustus Reeve, an eminent conchologist of the day who was mentioned in d'Orbigny's original description of the species.
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