Advertisement

You can sponsor this page

Mya arenaria   Linnaeus, 1758

Softshell clam

Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
This map was computer-generated and has not yet been reviewed.
Mya arenaria  AquaMaps  Data sources: GBIF OBIS
Upload your photos 
 | All pictures | Google image |
Image of Mya arenaria (Softshell clam)
Mya arenaria

United States (contiguous states) country information

Common names: [No common name]
Occurrence: native
Salinity: brackish
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: commercial | Ref: Bradbury, A., B. Blake, C. Speck, D. Rogers, 2005
Aquaculture: never/rarely | Ref:
Regulations: no regulations | Ref:
Uses: no uses
Comments: Known from Maine (Ref. 317), North America to Mexico (Ref. 1314), Cape Hatteras to Gulf of St. Lawrence (Ref. 7726) and Cotuit, Massachusetts (Ref. 80591); Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, North Carolina (Ref. 83435). C: Refs. 317, 1314, 7726, 80591, 83435, 94068; R: Ref. 95344.
National Checklist:
Country Information: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html
National Fisheries Authority: http://www.nmfs.gov
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Beal, B.F., R. Bayer, M.G. Kraus and S.R. Chapman, 1999
National Database:

Common names from other countries

Softshell, ... more

Classification / Names / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS

Bivalvia > Myida () > Myidae ()

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Benthic; brackish; depth range 0 - 192 m (Ref. 78574), usually 0 - 25 m (Ref. 75831).   Temperate, preferred 9°C (Ref. 107945); 77°N - 33°N, 180°W - 180°E (Ref. 113928)

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Northwest Atlantic from Nova Scotia to Virginia, North Sea and European waters including the Black, Baltic, Wadden, White and Mediterranean seas, and northeast Pacific from San Francisco to Alaska.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm Max length : 10.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 7726); max. reported age: 8 years (Ref. 2823)

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Minimum depth from Ref. 101279. Maximum depth recorded is 329 m (Ref. 101279).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Members of the class Bivalvia are mostly gonochoric, some are protandric hermaphrodites. Life cycle: Embryos develop into free-swimming trocophore larvae, succeeded by the bivalve veliger, resembling a miniature clam.

Main reference References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Harvey-Clark, C. 1997. (Ref. 7726)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)

  Not Evaluated 

CITES status (Ref. 108899)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Human uses

Fisheries: commercial
FAO - Aquaculture: production; Fisheries: landings | FishSource | Sea Around Us

Tools

E-book | Field guide

Internet sources

BHL | BOLD Systems | CISTI | DiscoverLife | FAO(Fisheries: ; publication : search) | GenBank (genome, nucleotide) | GloBI | Gomexsi | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | PubMed | Tree of Life | Wikipedia (Go, Search) | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 6.4 - 14.5, mean 10.9 (based on 360 cells).
Resilience (Ref. 69278) Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.14-0.48; tmax=8).
Vulnerability (Ref. 71543): Moderate vulnerability (36 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766): High.