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.
The Pacific geoduck is a species of very large saltwater clam in the family Hiatellidae. The common name is derived from the Lushootseed (Nisqually) word gʷídəq.
A siphon is an anatomical structure which is part of the body of aquatic molluscs in three classes: Gastropoda, Bivalvia and Cephalopoda.
The Pacific razor clam, Siliqua patula, is a species of large marine bivalve mollusc in the family Pharidae.
Panopea abrupta is an extinct species of large marine bivalve mollusc in the family Hiatellidae. Between 1983 and 2010, this species of clam was confused with the Pacific geoduck, Panopea generosa, in the scientific literature.
Soft-shell clams or sand gaper, scientific name Mya arenaria, popularly called "steamers", "softshells", "piss clams", "Ipswich clams", or "Essex clams" are a species of edible saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Myidae.
Pholadidae, known as piddocks or angelwings, are a family of bivalve molluscs similar to a clam.
Tresus capax is a species of saltwater clam, marine bivalve mollusk, common name the fat gaper, in the family Mactridae. It also shares the common name horse clam with Tresus nuttallii a species which is similar in morphology and lifestyle. Both species are somewhat similar to the geoduck, though smaller, with shells up to eight inches long (20 cm), weight to 3–4 lb (1.4–1.8 kg).
Hippopus hippopus, also known as the Horse Hoof clam and Strawberry clam, is a species of giant clam in the Family Tridacna and the genus Hippopus. Hippopus is a delicacy in many Southeast Asian countries due to its high quality meat.
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 commonly found in the western Atlantic Ocean. Reaching up to 20 centimetres (7.9 in) or more in length, it is much larger than Spisula solida, which resides in the eastern Atlantic coastal waters.
Limecola balthica, commonly called the Baltic macoma, Baltic clam or Baltic tellin, is a small saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Tellinidae.
Leukoma staminea, commonly known as the Pacific littleneck clam, the littleneck clam, the rock cockle, the hardshell clam, the Tomales Bay cockle, the rock clam or the ribbed carpet shell, is a species of bivalve mollusc in the family Veneridae. This species of mollusc was exploited by early humans in North America; for example, the Chumash peoples of Central California harvested these clams in Morro Bay approximately 1,000 years ago, and the distinctive shells form middens near their settlements.
Panopea is a genus of large marine bivalve molluscs or clams in the family Hiatellidae. There are 10 described species in Panopea. Many of them are known under the common name "geoduck".
Panopea zelandica, commonly known as the deepwater clam or New Zealand geoduck, is a large species of marine bivalve mollusc in the Panopea (geoduck) genus of the family Hiatellidae. It is also sometimes called a king clam, or a gaper – in reference to the shell not being closed at either end.
Mya truncata, common name the blunt gaper or truncate softshell, is a species of edible saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Myidae.
Tresus is a genus of saltwater clams, marine bivalve mollusks in the family Mactridae. Many of them are known under the common name the horse clam or as species of gaper clam. They are similar to geoducks.
Tresus nuttallii, common name the Pacific gaper, is a species of saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Mactridae. It also shares the common name horse clam with Tresus capax, a species which is similar in morphology and lifestyle. Both species are somewhat similar to the Geoduck, though smaller, with shells up to eight inches long (20 cm), weight to 3–4 lb (1.4–1.8 kg).
Geoduck aquaculture or geoduck farming is the practice of cultivating geoducks for human consumption. The geoduck is a large edible saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusk, that is native to the Pacific Northwest.
Potamocorbula amurensis is a species of small saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusc in the order Myida. Common names include the overbite clam, the Asian clam, the Amur River clam and the brackish-water corbula. The species is native to marine and brackish waters in the northern Pacific Ocean, its range extending from Siberia to China, Korea and Japan. It has become naturalised in San Francisco Bay.
Fulguropsis spirata, commonly known as pear whelk, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Busyconidae, the busycon whelks. The species is also occasionally referred to as the Gulf pear whelk to differentiate it from other Fulguropsis species which are also referred to as pear whelks. It is an edible mollusc found in areas from the Caribbean to the Western Gulf of Mexico. The species was previously thought to range through the entire Gulf of Mexico down the Florida Peninsula and as far north as North Carolina in the Atlantic. The species is generally not found East of the Mississippi Delta, and any Fulguropsis found Eastward from said delta are most likely of the species Fulguropsis pyruloides. As a result many records of F. pyruloides from the aforementioned regions are falsely labelled as F. spirata.
