List of edible molluscs
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This is a partial list of edible molluscs. Molluscs are a large phylum of
invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...
animals, many of which have shells. Edible molluscs are harvested from saltwater, freshwater, and the land, and include numerous members of the classes Gastropoda (snails),
Bivalvia 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, biva ...
(clams, scallops, oysters etc.), Cephalopoda (octopus and squid), and Polyplacophora (chitons). Many species of molluscs are eaten worldwide, either cooked or raw. Some mollusc species are commercially exploited and shipped as part of the international trade in shellfish; other species are harvested, sold and consumed locally. Some species are collected and eaten locally but are rarely bought and sold. A few species of molluscs are not commonly eaten now, but were eaten in historical or prehistoric times. The list is divided into marine and non-marine (terrestrial and freshwater) species, and within those divisions, the lists are primarily arranged taxonomically, so that related species are grouped together.


Marine species


Gastropods (snails)

These sea snails are edible; some are listed by
genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
, others by
species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
and others by their common name. Most species of abalone, including: * Abalone * Black abalone * Blacklip abalone * Green abalone *
Green ormer The green ormer (''Haliotis tuberculata'') is a northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean species of sea snail, a coastal marine gastropod mollusc in the family Haliotidae, the abalones or ormer snails. The flesh of the green ormer is prized as a de ...
* '' Haliotis corrugata'' * Red abalone * White abalone * Pāua Many species of true limpets, including: * ''
Cellana exarata ''Cellana exarata'', common name the black-foot ʻopihi and Hawaiian blackfoot is a species of edible true limpet, a marine (ocean), marine gastropod mollusc in the family (biology), family Nacellidae, one of the families of true limpets. ‘Opih ...
'' * '' Cellana sandwicensis'' * '' Patella caerulea'' * ''
Patella ferruginea ''Patella ferruginea'', commonly known as the ribbed Mediterranean limpet, is a species of sea snail, a true limpet, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Patellidae, one of the families of true limpets. It is a large limpet, native to the ...
'' * '' Patella rustica'' * '' Patella ulyssiponensis'' * '' Patella vulgata'' Many species of winkles, including: * ''
Austrolittorina antipodum ''Austrolittorina antipodum'', known as the banded periwinkle, is a species of small sea snail, a marine gastropod in the winkles and periwinkles family, Littorinidae. It is found in New Zealand. It occurs in New Zealand New Zealand ( m ...
'' * Common periwinkle * '' Littorina sitkana'' * and other species in the family
Littorinidae The Littorinidae are a Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic family (biology), family of over 200 species of sea snails, marine (ocean), marine gastropod molluscs in the clade Littorinimorpha, commonly known as periwinkles and found worldwide. Names In ...
Many species of conchs, including: * '' Lobatus gigas'' * ''
Laevistrombus canarium ''Laevistrombus canarium'' ( commonly known as the dog conch or by its better-known synonym, ''Strombus canarium'') is a species of edible sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Strombidae (true conches). Known from illustrations in ...
'' Some rock snail species, including: * ''
Chorus giganteus ''Chorus giganteus'' is a species of sea snail in the family Muricidae. It is endemic to the coast of Chile, where it occurs from Antofagasta ( 23° S) to the south of the country (around 39° S) at depths of . It is a benthic predato ...
'' * '' Concholepas concholepas'' * '' Turbo bruneus'' * '' Turbo cornutus'' * '' Turbo intercostalis'' * '' Tectus niloticus'' Many species of
whelk Whelk (also known as scungilli) is a common name applied to various kinds of sea snail. Although a number of whelks are relatively large and are in the family Buccinidae (the true whelks), the word ''whelk'' is also applied to some other marin ...
s,
Buccinidae The Buccinidae are a very large and diverse taxonomic family of large sea snails, often known as whelks or true whelks.Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S. (2010). Buccinidae. In: Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S.; Rosenberg, G. (2010) World Marine Mollusca database. Acc ...
, including: *
Channeled whelk ''Busycotypus canaliculatus'', commonly known as the channeled whelk, is a very large predatory sea snail, a marine prosobranch gastropod, a busycon whelk, belonging to the family Busyconidae.Fraussen, K.; Rosenberg, G. (2012). Busycotypus canali ...
* Lightning whelk *
Knobbed whelk The knobbed whelk (''Busycon carica'') is a species of very large predatory sea snail, or in the US, a whelk, a marine (ocean), marine gastropod mollusc, mollusk in the family (biology), family Busyconidae, the busycon whelks. The knobbed whel ...
Other sea snail groups: * '' Bullacta exarata'', a bubble snail * '' Amphibola crenata'', an air-breathing mud snail * melo melo a
volute A volute is a spiral, scroll-like ornament that forms the basis of the Ionic order, found in the capital of the Ionic column. It was later incorporated into Corinthian order and Composite column capitals. Four are normally to be found on an Ion ...
snail *
euspira heros ''Euspira heros'', the northern moon snail, is a species of large sea snail in the family Naticidae.Gofas, S.; Bouchet, P.; Rosenberg, G. (2015). Euspira heros (Say, 1822). In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Speci ...
a large moon snail


Bivalves (clams etc.)

Note that the common names of edible bivalves can be misleading, in that not all species known as "cockles" "oysters", "mussels", etc., are closely related. Ark clams ( Arcidae), including: *
Blood cockle ''Tegillarca granosa'' (also known as ''Anadara 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 ...
* '' Senilia senilis'' Many species of true mussels, family
Mytilidae Mytilidae are a family of small to large marine and brackish-water bivalve molluscs in the order Mytilida. One of the genera, '' Limnoperna'', even inhabits freshwater environments. The order has only this one family which contains some 52 gener ...
, including: *
Blue mussel The blue mussel (''Mytilus edulis''), also known as the common mussel, is a medium-sized edible marine bivalve mollusc in the family Mytilidae, the mussels. Blue mussels are subject to commercial use and intensive aquaculture. A species with a l ...
* California mussel * Mediterranean mussel * '' Mytilus coruscus'' * ''
Perna canaliculus ''Perna canaliculus'', the New Zealand green-lipped mussel, also known as the New Zealand mussel, the greenshell mussel, ''kuku'', and ''kutai'', is a bivalve mollusc in the family Mytilidae (the true mussels). ''P. canaliculus'' has economic i ...
'' * '' Perna perna'' * ''
Perna viridis ''Perna viridis'', known as the Asian green mussel, is an economically important mussel, a bivalve belonging to the family Mytilidae. It is harvested for food but is also known to harbor toxins and cause damage to submerged structures such as d ...
'' Many species of Pen shell including: * Atrina rigida * Pinna carnea * Pinna nobilis Many species of true oysters, including: * Auckland oyster * Dredge oyster *
Mangrove oyster Mangrove oyster is a common name for several oysters that live on mangrove roots and may refer to: *'' Crassostrea rhizophorae'' *'' Crassostrea tulipa'' *' {{Animal common name Mollusc common names ...
* ''
Ostrea angasi The southern mud oyster, Australian flat oyster, native flat oyster, native mud oyster, or angasi oyster (''Ostrea angasi''), is endemic to southern Australia, ranging from Western Australia to southeast New South Wales and around Tasmania. ''O ...
'' * ''
Ostrea edulis ''Ostrea edulis'', commonly known as the European flat oyster, is a species of oyster native to Europe. In Britain and Ireland, regional names include Colchester native oyster, mud oyster, or edible oyster. In France, ''Ostrea edulis'' are known ...
'' *
Pacific oyster The Pacific oyster, Japanese oyster, or Miyagi oyster (''Magallana gigas''), is an oyster native to the Pacific coast of Asia. It has become an introduced species in North America, Australia, Europe, and New Zealand. Etymology The genus ''Mag ...
* Rock oysters ** '' Saccostrea glomerata'' (Sydney rock oyster) **'' Saccostrea echinata'' (Tropical black-lip rock oyster * Portuguese oyster *
Eastern oyster The eastern oyster (''Crassostrea virginica'')—also called the Atlantic oyster, American oyster, or East Coast oyster—is a species of true oyster native to eastern North and South America. Other names in local or culinary use include the We ...
Many species of true cockles, including: * '' Clinocardium nuttallii'' * '' Cerastoderma edule'' * dinocardium Many species of scallop, including: * ''
Argopecten irradians ''Argopecten irradians'', formerly classified as ''Aequipecten irradians'', common names Atlantic bay scallop or bay scallop, is a species of scallop in the family Pectinidae. An edible saltwater clam, it is native to the northwest Atlantic fro ...
'' * '' Argopecten purpuratus'' * '' Pecten jacobaeus'' * ''
Pecten maximus ''Pecten maximus'', common names the great scallop, king scallop, St James shell or escallop, is a northeast Atlantic species of scallop, an edible saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Pectinidae. This is the type species of ...
'' * '' Pecten novaezealandiae'' * '' Placopecten magellanicus'' Many species of
venus clam The Veneridae or venerids, common name: Venus clams, are a very large family of minute to large, saltwater clams, marine bivalve molluscs. Over 500 living species of venerid bivalves are known, most of which are edible, and many of which are ex ...
, including: * '' Austrovenus stutchburyi'' * '' Chione californiensis'' *
Grooved carpet shell The grooved carpet shell, or Palourde clam, ''Ruditapes decussatus'', or ''Venerupis decussatus'', is a clam (bivalve mollusc) in the family Veneridae. It is distributed worldwide and due to its ecological and economic interest has been proposed ...
* Quahog * '' Ruditapes largillierti'' * ''
Saxidomus gigantea ''Saxidomus gigantea'' is a large, edible saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Veneridae, the venus clams. It can be found along the western coast of North America, ranging from the Aleutian Islands to San Francisco Bay. Common ...
'' * '' Leukoma'' * ''
Saxidomus nuttalli ''Saxidomus nuttalli'' is a species of large edible saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Veneridae, the venus clams.Paphies ''Paphies'' is a genus of large, edible, saltwater clams, marine bivalve molluscs in the family Mesodesmatidae. The genus is endemic to New Zealand. The species in this genus include the pipi ('' P. australis''), tuatua (''P. subtriangulata'') ...
'' * '' Paphies australis'' * ''
Paphies ventricosa ''Paphies ventricosa'', or toheroa (a Māori word meaning "long tongue"), is a large bivalve mollusc of the family Mesodesmatidae, endemic to New Zealand. Distribution It is found in both the North and South Islands, but the main habitat is th ...
'' * Pismo clam * Smooth clam *
Tuatua ''Paphies subtriangulata'' is a species of edible bivalve clam known as tuatua in the Māori language, a member of the family Mesodesmatidae and endemic to New Zealand. It is found on all three of the main New Zealand islands, buried in fine cle ...
* ''
Venerupis philippinarum ''Lajonkairia lajonkairii'' is an edible species of saltwater clam in the family Veneridae, the Venus clams. MolluscaBase eds. (2022). MolluscaBase. Lajonkairia lajonkairii (Payraudeau, 1826). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at ...
'' Many species in the family Mactridae, including: * Atlantic surf clam * '' Mactra stultorum'' * '' Meretrix (genus)'' * '' Meretrix lyrata'' * '' Tresus'' * '' Tresus capax'' * '' Tresus nuttallii'' * '' Spisula aequilateralis'' Many species of razor clams Pharidae, including: *
Atlantic jackknife clam The Atlantic jackknife clam, ''Ensis leei'', 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 specie ...
* ''
Ensis ''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 sa ...
'' * ''
Ensis macha ''Ensis macha'', or navaja or navajuela as it is called in Spanish, is a bivalve mollusc of the family Pharidae. It inhabits the coasts of Peru, Chile and southern Argentina. It is different from the clam colloquially known as the macha in Chile ...
'' *
Pacific razor clam The Pacific razor clam, ''Siliqua patula'', is a species of large marine bivalve mollusc in the family Pharidae. Range Pacific razor clams can be found along the Pacific West Coast of North America from the eastern Aleutian Islands, Alaska, t ...
* Pod razor * Razor shell * ''
Sinonovacula ''Sinonovacula'' is a genus of bivalves. Species include: *''Sinonovacula constricta ''Sinonovacula constricta'', the constricted tagelus, Chinese razor clam or Agemaki clam, is a commercially important species of bivalve native to th ...
'' Several species of bean clams Donacidae, including: * ''
Plebidonax deltoides ''Plebidonax deltoides'' or ''Donax deltoides'' is a small, edible saltwater clam or Ocean, marine Bivalvia, bivalve Mollusca, mollusc, Endemism, endemic to Australia. It belongs to the family (biology), family of either the Donacidae, or the r ...
'' Other bivalve species, including: * ''
Arctica islandica The ocean quahog (''Arctica islandica'') is a species of edible clam, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Arcticidae. This species is native to the North Atlantic Ocean, and it is harvested commercially as a food source. This species is als ...
'' *
Geoduck The Pacific geoduck ("gooey-duck"; ; ''Panopea generosa'') is a species of very large saltwater clam in the family Hiatellidae. The common name is derived from the Lushootseed ( Nisqually) word . The geoduck is native to the coastal waters of t ...
* '' Lithophaga lithophaga'' * '' Mya truncata'' * '' Pholas dactylus'' * ''
Placunidae Placunidae, also known as windowpane oysters, windowpane shells, and Capiz shells, are a taxonomic family of saltwater clams, marine bivalve mollusks which are related to oysters and scallops. This family is best known for the shells of the s ...
'' - windowpane oysters, not true oysters * ''
Pinctada ''Pinctada'' is a genus of saltwater oysters, marine bivalve mollusks in the family Pteriidae. These pearl oysters have a strong inner shell layer composed of nacre, also known as "mother of pearl". Pearl oysters are not closely related to eit ...
'' *
Soft-shell clam Soft-shell clams (American English) or sand gaper (British English/Europe), scientific name ''Mya arenaria'', popularly called "steamers", "softshells", "piss clams", "Ipswich clams", or "Essex clams" are a species of edible saltwater clam, a ...


Chitons (coat of mail shells)

* ''
Chiton magnificus ''Chiton magnificus'', the liquorice sea cradle, is a Southeast Pacific species of edible chiton, a marine polyplacophoran mollusk in the family Chitonidae, the typical chitons. Description ''Chiton magnificus'' is a very large chiton, with sp ...
'' * Gumboot chiton * '' Katharina tunicata'' * West Indian fuzzy chiton


Cephalopods (octopus, squid etc.)

Many species of octopus including: * '' Amphioctopus fangsiao'' * '' Bathypolypus valdiviae'' * '' Enteroctopus dofleini'' * '' Enteroctopus megalocyathus'' * '' Octopus cyanea'' * '' Octopus macropus'' Many species of squid are used as food, including: *
Humboldt squid The Humboldt squid (''Dosidicus gigas''), also known as jumbo squid or jumbo flying squid (EN), and Pota in Peru or Jibia in Chile (ES) is a large, predatory squid living in the eastern Pacific Ocean. It is the only known species of the genus ''D ...
*
Japanese flying squid The Japanese flying squid, Japanese common squid or Pacific flying squid, scientific name ''Todarodes pacificus'', is a squid of the family Ommastrephidae. This animal lives in the northern Pacific Ocean, in the area surrounding Japan, along the ...
* longfin inshore squid * veined squid * European squid Some species of cuttlefish are eaten: * '' Sepiadarium kochi'' * '' Sepiella inermis'' Other cephalopods: *
Nautilus The nautilus (, ) is a pelagic marine mollusc of the cephalopod family Nautilidae. The nautilus is the sole extant family of the superfamily Nautilaceae and of its smaller but near equal suborder, Nautilina. It comprises six living species in ...


Non-marine species

Edible freshwater and land mollusc species include freshwater snails, clams, mussels and land snails:


Land snails

*
Escargot Snails are considered edible in many areas such as the Mediterranean region, Africa, or Southeast Asia, while in other cultures, snails are seen as a taboo food. In American English, edible land snails are also called escargot, taken from the Fre ...
*''
Cornu aspersum ''Cornu aspersum'' (syn. ''Cryptomphalus aspersus''), known by the common name garden snail, is a species of land snail in the family Helicidae, which includes some of the most familiar land snails. Of all terrestrial molluscs, this species may ...
'' * '' Helix lucorum'' * '' Helix nucula'' * '' Helix pomatia'' * grove snail


Freshwater clams

* '' Corbicula fluminea''


See also

* '' Consider the Oyster'' *
List of seafood dishes This is a list of notable seafood dishes. Seafood dishes are food dishes which use seafood (fish, shellfish or seaweed) as primary ingredients, and are ready to be served or eaten with any needed preparation or cooking completed. Many fish or ...
* Mollusca – uses by humans *
Oyster bar An oyster bar, also known as an oyster saloon, oyster house or a raw bar service, is a restaurant specializing in serving oysters, or a section of a restaurant which serves oysters buffet-style. Oysters have been consumed since ancient times and w ...
*
Oyster farming Oyster farming is an aquaculture (or mariculture) practice in which oysters are bred and raised mainly for their pearls, shells and inner organ tissue, which is eaten. Oyster farming was practiced by the ancient Romans as early as the 1st century ...
*
Oyster festival An oyster festival is a food festival centered on the oyster. There are a number of oyster festivals worldwide, including the following: Australia * The Brisbane Water Oyster Festival — Woy Woy, New South Wales * Narooma, New South Wales &md ...


References


External links

* * * * * {{Edible molluscs, state=collapsed List Molluscs, List Of Edible