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.
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 cold seep is an area of the ocean floor where hydrogen sulfide, methane and other hydrocarbon-rich fluid seepage occurs, often in the form of a brine pool. Cold does not mean that the temperature of the seepage is lower than that of the surrounding sea water. On the contrary, its temperature is often slightly higher. The "cold" is relative to the very warm conditions of a hydrothermal vent. Cold seeps constitute a biome supporting several endemic species.
A siphon is an anatomical structure which is part of the body of aquatic molluscs in three classes: Gastropoda, Bivalvia and Cephalopoda.
The giant clams are the members of the clam genus Tridacna that are the largest living bivalve mollusks. There are several species of "giant clams" in the genus Tridacna, which are often misidentified for Tridacna gigas, the most commonly intended species referred to as "the giant clam".
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.
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.
The Cryptodonta are a nearly-extinct subclass of the bivalves. It contains a single extant order, Solemyida, while the Praecardiida are known only from fossils.
Solemyidae is a family of saltwater clams, marine protobranch bivalve mollusks in the order Solemyida.
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.
Solemya parkinsonii is a species of saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Solemyidae, the awning clams.
Mulinia modesta is a species of clam belonging to the family Mactridae.
Solemya occidentalis, the West Indian awning clam, is a species of marine bivalve mollusc in the family Solemyidae. This species is found in the western Atlantic Ocean from Florida to the West Indies.
Solemya velum, the Atlantic awning clam, is a species of marine bivalve mollusc in the family Solemyidae, the awning clams. This species is found along the eastern coast of North America, from Nova Scotia to Florida and inhabits subtidal sediments with high organic matter (OM) content and low Oxygen, such as salt ponds, salt marshes, and sewage outfalls.
Nucula proxima, commonly known as the Atlantic nut clam, is a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Nuculidae. It can be found along the Atlantic coast of North America, ranging from Nova Scotia to Texas, including Bermuda.
Codakia orbicularis, or the tiger lucine, is a species of bivalve mollusc in the family Lucinidae. It can be found along the Atlantic coast of North America, ranging from Florida to the West Indies.
Protobranchia is a subclass of bivalve molluscs. It contains the extant orders Nuculanida, Nuculida, and Solemyida.
Mulinia lateralis, the dwarf surf clam or coot clam, is a species of small saltwater clam, a bivalve mollusc in the family Mactridae. It occurs in the western Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.
Solemya elarraichensis is a species of marine bivalve mollusc in the family Solemyidae. It is endemic to the deep-water mud volcano slopes in the Gulf of Cadiz in the eastern Atlantic Ocean.
Solemya is a genus of saltwater clams, marine bivalve mollusks in the family Solemyidae, the awning clams. Solemya is the type genus of the family Solemyidae.
