''Ensis'' is a
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of medium-sized edible saltwater
clam
Clam is a common name for several kinds of bivalve mollusc. The word is often applied only to those that are deemed edible and live as infauna, spending most of their lives halfway buried in the sand of the sea floor or riverbeds. Clams h ...
s,
littoral bivalve
Bivalvia () or bivalves, in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class (biology), class of aquatic animal, aquatic molluscs (marine and freshwater) that have laterally compressed soft bodies enclosed b ...
mollusc
Mollusca is a phylum of protostome, protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant taxon, extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum ...
s in the
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
Pharidae. ''Ensis'', or
razor clams, are known in much of
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
as spoots, for the spouts of water they eject while burrowing into the sand, when visible at low tide.
This term may also colloquially include members of the genus ''
Solen''. ''
Ensis magnus'' are known as bendies due to their slightly curved shell.
Description
The shells are long, narrow, and parallel-sided. This shape resembles a closed, old-fashioned
straight razor (a cut-throat razor), or a closed jackknife (
pocket knife) and sometimes these clams are known as razor shells or jackknives. The shells in these species are fragile and can easily be damaged when digging for these clams.
Ecology
''Ensis'' species live in clean sand on exposed beaches. They are capable of digging very rapidly; see the description under the
Atlantic jackknife clam. Some clammers catch jackknives by pouring salt on the characteristic keyhole-shaped ''breathing holes''. The clam then tries to escape the salt by coming up out of its hole, and at this point it is possible to gently grab the shell and pull it out of the ground.
Species
Thirteen species are currently recognised:
*''
Ensis californicus''
(Dall, 1899)
*''
Ensis directus''
(Conrad, 1843) – Atlantic jackknife clam
*''
Ensis ensis''
(Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...
, 1758)
*''
Ensis goreensis''
(Clessin, 1888)
*''
Ensis macha''
(Molina, 1782)
*''
Ensis magnus''
(Schumacher, 1817)
*''
Ensis megistus''
(Pilsbry & McGinty, 1943)
*''
Ensis minor''
(Chenu, 1843)
*''
Ensis myrae''
(Berry, 1954)
*''
Ensis nitidus''
(Clessin, 1888)
*''
Ensis siliqua''
(Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...
, 1758) – pod razor
*''
Ensis terranovensis''
(Vierna & Martínez-Lage, 2012)
*''
Ensis tropicalis''
(Hertlein & Strong, 1955)
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2706031
Pharidae
Bivalve genera