''Donax variabilis'', known by the

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contra ...

coquina, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), 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 ...

of small edible saltwater clam, a marine

bivalve 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, biv ...

mollusc in the family

Donacidae The Donacidae, the "bean clams" or "wedge shells", are a family of bivalve molluscs of the superfamily Tellinoidea. The family is related to the '' Tellina''. The Donacidae are prolific filter feeders and are an important part of coastal food ...

, the bean clams. It is a warm water species which occurs in shallow water on sandy beaches on the

east coast of the United States The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Eastern United States meets the North Atlantic Ocean. The eastern seaboard contains the ...

Distribution

This species occurs on the

, from

Cape May, New Jersey Cape May is a city located at the southern tip of Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States, where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the country's oldest vacation resort destinations, and part of ...

to Florida including East Florida, West Florida and the

Florida Keys The Florida Keys are a coral island, coral cay archipelago located off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about south of ...

.Rosenberg, G. 2009. Malacolog 4.1.1: A Database of Western Atlantic Marine Mollusca. WW database (version 4.1.1)URL http://www.malacolog.org/

Description

The maximum reported size is . The exterior of the small shell of this species can have any one of a wide range of possible colors, from almost white, through yellow, pink, orange, red, purple, to brownish and blueish, with or without the presence of darker rays.

Biology

This species lives from the

intertidal zone The intertidal zone, also known as the foreshore, is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide (in other words, the area within the tidal range). This area can include several types of habitats with various species ...

of sandy beaches to a depth of .Rosenberg, G. 2009. Malacolog 4.1.1: A Database of Western Atlantic Marine Mollusca. WW database (version 4.1.1)URL http://www.malacolog.org/ As most mollusks, the coquina is host to a variety of parasites. On the Atlantic Coast of the United States, studies have shown that coquinas harbour the larval stages (

cercaria A cercaria (plural cercariae) is the larval form of the trematode Trematoda is a Class (biology), class of flatworms known as flukes. They are obligate parasite, obligate internal Parasitism, parasites with a complex biological life cycle, l ...

e, sporocysts) of at least three species of digeneans (none of these represents a danger for humans).

Human uses

The coquina is edible and is used to make broth. Some people collect the colorful shells to use for crafts.

References

* http://www.dnr.sc.gov/cwcs/pdf/Coquinaclam.pdf {{Taxonbar, from=Q3013014 Donacidae Bivalves described in 1822

Distribution

Description

Biology

Human uses

See also

References