''Ruditapes philippinarum'', the Manila clam, is an edible

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of 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 ...

in the family

Veneridae The Veneridae or venerids, common name: Venus (mythology), 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 m ...

, the Venus clams.

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 con ...

s include Manila clam, Japanese littleneck clam, Japanese cockle, and Japanese carpet shell.Cohen, A.N. 2011
''Venerupis philippinarum''.
The Exotics Guide: Non-native Marine Species of the North American Pacific Coast. Center for Research on Aquatic Bioinvasions, Richmond, California, and San Francisco Estuary Institute, Oakland, California. Revised September 2011. In Japan, it is known as ''asari''. In Korea, it is known as ''bajirak''. The clam is commercially harvested, and is the second most important

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 ...

grown in

aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. Nelu ...

worldwide.Cordero, D., et al
Population genetics of the Manila clam (Ruditapes philippinarum) introduced in North America and Europe.
''Scientific Reports'' 7, Article number: 39745. 3 January 2017.

Description

The shell of ''Ruditapes philippinarum'' is elongate, oval, and sculptured with radiating ribs.Morris, R.H., Abbott, D.P., & Haderlie, E.C. (1980). ''Intertidal Invertebrates of California''. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. It is generally 40 to 57 millimeters wide, with a maximum width of 79 millimeters.

Distribution

This clam is native to the coasts of the Indian,

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

and

Pacific Oceans The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

from

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

north to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

and the

Kuril Islands The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands are a volcanic archipelago administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the Russian Far East. The islands stretch approximately northeast from Hokkaido in Japan to Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, separating the ...

. It has an extensive nonnative distribution, having been introduced accidentally and purposely as a commercially harvested edible clam. It is now permanently established in coastal ecosystems in many parts of the world.

Habitat

4022Common houseflies cats ants plants foods of Bulacan 58

This burrowing clam is most abundant in subtropical and cooler temperate areas. It can be found in shallow waters in substrates of coarse sand, mud, and gravel. It lives in the

littoral The littoral zone, also called litoral or nearshore, is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely i ...

and sublittoral zones. It burrows no more than about 10 centimetres into the substrate. It sometimes lives in eelgrass beds. This species lives in many types of habitat, being found in the

intertidal zone The intertidal zone or foreshore is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide; in other words, it is the part of the littoral zone within the tidal range. This area can include several types of habitats with various ...

brackish water Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuary ...

estuaries An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

, and under ice. It survives in a range of salinities and temperatures, with narrower ranges required for breeding.

Biology and ecology

This clam may become sexually mature in its first year of life, when it reaches about 15 millimeters in width, especially in warmer areas such as Hawaii. In cooler areas it begins breeding at older ages and larger sizes. In warmer regions it spawns year-round, but only in the summer in cooler areas. The

fecundity Fecundity is defined in two ways; in human demography, it is the potential for reproduction of a recorded population as opposed to a sole organism, while in population biology, it is considered similar to fertility, the capability to produc ...

of the species increases with size, a 40-millimeter female producing up to 2.4 million eggs.

Commercial value

Manila clam represents 25% of commercially produced mollusks in the world. The species is considered to be a sustainable aquaculture product.Manila Clam.
FishChoice.com It is sold live or frozen. Japanese carpet shell total production million tonnes 1950-2022

Japanese carpet shell total production million tonnes 1950-2022

Culinary uses

The clam is frequently eaten in Asia, especially in the

, and

, where they are often used in soups and noodle dishes. Miso soup of Japanese littleneck clam(asari) 2014.jpg, Japanese

miso soup is a traditional Japan, Japanese soup consisting of miso paste mixed with a ''dashi'' Stock (food), stock. It is commonly served as part of an meal, meaning "one soup, three dishes," a traditional Japanese meal structure that includes rice, sou ...

with ''asari'' clams 丸亀製麺あさりうどん.jpg, Japanese

udon Udon ( or ) is a thick noodle made from wheat flour, used in Japanese cuisine. There are a variety of ways it is prepared and served. Its simplest form is in a soup as with a mild broth called made from dashi, soy sauce, and mirin. It is usual ...

noodles with ''asari'' clams File:深川弁当, つきじ喜代村, ecute Tokyo, TSUKIJI KIYOMURA, ＪＲ東京駅, 東京駅, 東京, 日本, Lunch, JR East Station, Tokyo Station, Tokyo, Japan (13748708723).jpg, Japanese ekiben lunch box topped with ''asari'' clams Asari Senbei 20170716.jpg, Japanese senbei cookies with dried ''asari'' clam Bajirak-kalguksu 20230126 002.jpg, Korean kal-guksu noodles with ''bajirak'' clams Bajirak-kongnamul-guk.jpg, Korean ''kongnamul-guk'' (

soybean sprout Soybean sprout is a culinary vegetable grown by sprouting soybeans. It can be grown by placing and watering the sprouted soybeans in the shade until the roots grow long. Soybean sprouts are extensively cultivated and consumed in Asian countries. ...

soup) with ''bajirak'' clams

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Veneridae Bivalves described in 1850 Edible shellfish