Atlantic jackknife clam

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Atlantic jackknife clam
Ensis directus.jpg
Empty shell of Ensis leei
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Bivalvia
Order: Adapedonta
Family: Pharidae
Genus: Ensis
Species:
E. leei
Binomial name
Ensis leei
M. Huber, 1843
Synonyms
  • Ensis directus Conrad, 1843
  • Ensis americanus Gould, 1870
Jackknife clam, cooked, valves open Navalla.JPG
Jackknife clam, cooked, valves open
Ensis leei 01.jpg

The Atlantic jackknife clam, Ensis leei, [1] also known as the bamboo clam, American jackknife clam or razor clam, is a large edible marine bivalve mollusc found on the North American Atlantic coast, from Canada to South Carolina. The species was also introduced to Europe at the end of the 70's and is already extremely abundant there in suitable habitats. The name "razor clam" is also used to refer to different species such as the Pacific razor clam (Siliqua patula) or Razor shell (Ensis magnus).

Contents

Jackknife clams live in sand and mud and are found in intertidal or subtidal zones in bays and estuaries. Its streamlined shell and strong foot allow Jackknife clams to burrow quickly in wet sand. Jackknife clams are also able to swim by propelling jets of water out of their shells. The Jackknife clam gets its name from its shell's extremely sharp rim and the overall shape bearing a strong resemblance to an old fashioned straight razor. Beachgoers can be injured when the shell is accidentally stepped on. [2]

At low tide the position of the Atlantic jackknife clam is revealed by a keyhole-shaped opening in the sand; when the clam is disturbed, a small jet of water squirts from this opening as the clam starts to dig. This species' remarkable speed in digging can easily outstrip a human digger, making the clam difficult to catch. Amos Winter of MIT has studied razor clams and how they bury themselves, in part by using a repurposed ant farm and glass beads.

Thus the species is not often commercially fished, even though it is widely regarded as a delicacy: in coastal Massachusetts, they are sought after in the summer by locals to make home cooked clam strips and most towns have ordinances regulating how many can be taken at a time. [3] The easiest way to catch jackknives is to pour salt on the characteristic breathing holes. The clam will try to escape the salt by coming up out of its hole, at which point you can gently grab the shell and pull it out of the ground.

Predators of Ensis directus other than humans include birds, such as the ring-billed gull (Larus delawarensis) in North America and the Eurasian oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) in Europe, and the nemertean worm Cerebratulus lacteus . [4]

The Atlantic jackknife clam is now also found in northwestern Europe, where it is regarded as a harmful exotic species, but is also commercially exploited. It was first recorded in Europe in 1978/79, in the Elbe estuary.[ citation needed ]

The Atlantic jackknife clam has inspired a kind of biomimetic anchor in development by a team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, adapting the clam's digging method for use in keeping undersea cables and potentially watercraft anchored securely. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

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Clam is a common name for several kinds of bivalve mollusc. 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 sea floor 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American oystercatcher</span> Species of bird

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pacific razor clam</span> Species of bivalve

The Pacific razor clam, Siliqua patula, is a species of large marine bivalve mollusc in the family Pharidae.

<i>Ensis</i> Genus of bivalves

Ensis is a genus of medium-sized edible saltwater clams, littoral bivalve molluscs in the family Pharidae. Ensis, or razor clams, are known in much of Scotland as spoots, for the spouts of water they eject while burrowing into the sand, when visible at low tide. This term may also colloquially include members of the genus Solen. Ensis magnus are known as bendies due to their slightly curved shell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soft-shell clam</span> Species of mollusc

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Razor clam is a common name for long, narrow, saltwater clams, including:

Jackknife clam is a common name which is used for several species in the genera Ensis and Solen within the family Solenidae, species which are found on Atlantic and Pacific beaches of temperate North America. Species in these families are also found elsewhere in the world, but in other English-speaking countries they usually have other common names. All the species in these genera have thin, highly elongate shells. Many of these bivalves are collected for food.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Razor shell</span> Species of bivalve

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<i>Ensis macha</i> Species of bivalve

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<i>Ensis ensis</i> Species of bivalve

Ensis ensis, or the sword razor, is a razor clam, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Pharidae. It lives buried in the sand and is found off the coasts of northwest Europe.

<i>Lutraria lutraria</i> Species of bivalve

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<i>Leptasterias polaris</i> Species of starfish

Leptasterias polaris, the polar six-rayed star, is a species of starfish in the family Asteriidae. It is found in cold waters in the northwest Atlantic Ocean and in polar regions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gould's razor shell</span> Species of bivalve

Gould's razor shell is a bivalve mollusc of the family Solenidae. It is common in Japan in sandy coastal zones of the western, southern and northeastern coasts, and also in South Korea, China and Taiwan. It lives on the sandy littoral zone, preferring the depth of about 20–50 cm.

<i>Macoma tenta</i> Species of bivalve

Macoma tenta, the narrowed macoma clam or elongate macoma is a species of clam, a marine bivalve mollusk (bivalvia) in the family Tellinidae and genus Macoma. Macoma tenta are one of two species of macoma clams that can be found in the Chesapeake Bay on the eastern shore of the United States in Maryland and Virginia. The macoma tenta like their cousin in the Chesapeake, the Macoma balthica or Baltic macoma clam, are small marine bivalves with thin, chalky white shells. They tend to live buried in the sandy or muddy areas of shallow water in the middle and lower Chesapeake Bay. Macoma clams are among the most abundant clams in the Chesapeake Bay. Macomas first appeared about 750,000 years ago.

<i>Solecurtus strigilatus</i> Species of bivalve

Solecurtus strigilatus, also known as the rosy razor clam, is a species of saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Solecurtidae. This mollusc is a suspension feeder and can burrow with great rapidity to escape predators. It is an unusual bivalve in that its shell valves are too small to contain all the soft tissue, and the animal is unable to retreat into its shell.

<i>Cerebratulus lacteus</i> Species of ribbon worm

Cerebratulus lacteus, the milky nemertean or milky ribbon worm, is a proboscis worm in the family Lineidae. This ribbon worm has a wide geographical range on both sides of the northern Atlantic Ocean.

<i>Pharus legumen</i> Species of bivalve

Pharus legumen, is a species of bivalve mollusc commonly found burrowed in the sand on lower shores and in the shallow sublittoral.

References

  1. ↑ MolluscaBase (2018). "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Ensis leei M. Huber, 2015". www.marinespecies.org. Retrieved 17 August 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ↑ "Solenidae & Cultellidae (Razor & Jackknife Clams)". shells.tricity.wsu.edu. Archived from the original on 2017-07-16. Retrieved 2018-07-16.
  3. ↑ "Town of Ipswich Massachusetts : Shellfish Rules & Regulations". Town.ipswich.ma.us. Archived from the original on 2013-06-09. Retrieved 2014-02-24.
  4. ↑ McDermott, John J. (1976). "Predation of the Razor Clam Ensis directus by the Nemertean Worm Cerebratulus lacteus". Chesapeake Science. 17 (4): 299–301. doi:10.2307/1350520. JSTOR   1350520.
  5. ↑ Morgan, James. "'RoboClam' could anchor submarines". BBC News. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
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