''Donax'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of small, edible saltwater clams,

marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

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, bival ...

mollusc Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is esti ...

s. The genus is sometimes known as bean clams or wedge shells; however, ''Donax'' species have numerous different common names in different parts of the world. In the southeastern U.S. they are known as "

coquina Coquina () is a sedimentary rock that is composed either wholly or almost entirely of the transported, abraded, and mechanically sorted fragments of the shells of mollusks, trilobites, brachiopods, or other invertebrates. The term ''coquina'' ...

", a word that is also used for the hard

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

concretions of their shells and those of other marine organisms.

Ecology

Species of ''Donax'' live, sometimes in high concentrations, vertically aligned in the sand on exposed beaches, on tropical and temperate coasts worldwide. When the waves wash these small clams out of the sand, they can dig back in again quite rapidly. They are

filter feeder Filter feeders are a sub-group of suspension feeding animals that feed by straining suspended matter and food particles from water, typically by passing the water over a specialized filtering structure. Some animals that use this method of feedin ...

s. Some species, such as ''

Donax variabilis ''Donax variabilis'', known by the common name coquina, is a species of small edible saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Donacidae, the bean clams. It is a warm water species which occurs in shallow water on sandy beaches on th ...

'', migrate vertically and horizontally with changes in the

tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravity, gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide t ...

s. These coquina clams are found extensively on the east coast beaches of Trinidad (Mayaro) and widely available in Venezuela. They are called "Chip Chip" in Trinidad & Tobago and "Chipi Chipi" in Venezuela.

Species

Donax cuneatus Linné, 1758 (3263505910) (2)

Species within the genus ''Donax'' include: * '' Donax asper''

Hanley Hanley is one of the six towns that, along with Burslem, Longton, Fenton, Tunstall and Stoke-upon-Trent, amalgamated to form the City of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. Hanley is the ''de facto'' city centre, having long been the ...

1845eol Encyclopedia of Life
/ref> * ''

Donax assimilis ''Donax'' is the scientific name of two genera of organisms and may refer to: * ''Donax'' (bivalve), a genus of clams in the family Donacidae * ''Donax'' (plant), a genus of plants in the family Marantaceae {{Genus disambiguation ...

, 1845 * '' Donax baliregteri'' Huber, 2012 * ''

Donax bertini ''Donax'' is the scientific name of two genera of organisms and may refer to: * ''Donax'' (bivalve), a genus of clams in the family Donacidae * ''Donax'' (plant), a genus of plants in the family Marantaceae {{Genus disambiguation ...

Pilsbry Henry Augustus Pilsbry (7 December 1862 – 26 October 1957) was an American biologist, malacologist and carcinologist, among other areas of study. He was a dominant presence in many fields of invertebrate taxonomy for the better part of a centu ...

, 1901 * '' Donax bipartitus''

Sowerby III George Brettingham Sowerby III (16 September 1843 – 31 January 1921) was a British conchologist, publisher, and illustrator. He, too, worked (like his father George Brettingham Sowerby II and his grandfather George Brettingham Sowerby I) on the ...

, 1892 * ''

Donax brazieri ''Donax'' is the scientific name of two genera of organisms and may refer to: * ''Donax'' (bivalve), a genus of clams in the family Donacidae * ''Donax'' (plant), a genus of plants in the family Marantaceae {{Genus disambiguation ...

'' Smith, 1892 * ''

Donax bruneirufi ''Donax'' is the scientific name of two genera of organisms and may refer to: * ''Donax'' (bivalve), a genus of clams in the family Donacidae * ''Donax'' (plant), a genus of plants in the family Marantaceae {{Genus disambiguation ...

'' Huber, 2012 * ''

Donax burnupi ''Donax'' is the scientific name of two genera of organisms and may refer to: * ''Donax'' (bivalve), a genus of clams in the family Donacidae * ''Donax'' (plant), a genus of plants in the family Marantaceae {{Genus disambiguation ...

, 1894 * ''

Donax caelatus ''Donax'' is the scientific name of two genera of organisms and may refer to: * ''Donax'' (bivalve), a genus of clams in the family Donacidae * ''Donax'' (plant), a genus of plants in the family Marantaceae {{Genus disambiguation ...

Carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, Shipbuilding, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. ...

, 1857 * ''

Donax californicus ''Donax'' is the scientific name of two genera of organisms and may refer to: * ''Donax'' (bivalve), a genus of clams in the family Donacidae * ''Donax'' (plant), a genus of plants in the family Marantaceae {{Genus disambiguation ...

Conrad Conrad may refer to: People * Conrad (name) Places United States * Conrad, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Conrad, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Conrad, Iowa, a city * Conrad, Montana, a city * Conrad Glacier, Washington ...

, 1837 * ''

Donax carinatus ''Donax carinatus'' is a 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 t ...

, 1843 * ''

Donax clathratus ''Donax'' is the scientific name of two genera of organisms and may refer to: * ''Donax'' (bivalve), a genus of clams in the family Donacidae * ''Donax'' (plant), a genus of plants in the family Marantaceae {{Genus disambiguation ...

Reeve Reeve may refer to: Titles *Reeve (Canada), an elected chief executive of some counties, townships, and equivalents *Reeve (England), an official elected annually by the serfs to supervise lands for a lord *High-reeve, a title taken by some Englis ...

, 1855 * '' Donax culter''

, 1845 * '' Donax cuneatus'' Linnaeus,

1758 Events January–March * January 1 – Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus (Carl von Linné) publishes in Stockholm the first volume (''Animalia'') of the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', the sta ...

* '' Donax denticulatus'' Linnaeus,

* '' Donax dentifer''

, 1843 * '' Donax ecuadorianus'' Olsson, 1961 * '' Donax erythraeensis'' Bertin, 1881 * '' Donax faba''

Gmelin Gmelin may refer to: * Gmelin's test, a chemical test * Gmelin database, a German handbook/encyclopedia of inorganic compounds initiated by Leopold Gmelin People * Carl Christian Gmelin (1762–1837), German botanist, author of ''Flora Badensis ...

, 1791 * '' Donax fossor''

Say Say may refer to: Music *''Say'' (album), 2008 album by J-pop singer Misono * "Say" (John Mayer song), 2007 *"Say (All I Need)", 2007 song by American pop rock band OneRepublic * "Say" (Method Man song), 2006 single by rapper Method Man * "Say" ( ...

, 1822 - was thought at one time to be a northern form of '' D. variabilis'' * '' Donax francisensis'' (Cotton & Godfrey, 1938) * '' Donax gemmula'' Morrison, 1971 * '' Donax gouldii'' Dall, 1921 - The bean clam, aka ''Donax gracilis''

1845 * '' Donax hanleyanus'' (

Philippi Philippi (; grc-gre, Φίλιπποι, ''Philippoi'') was a major Greek city northwest of the nearby island, Thasos. Its original name was Crenides ( grc-gre, Κρηνῖδες, ''Krenides'' "Fountains") after its establishment by Thasian colon ...

, 1847) * '' Donax kindermanni'' (

, 1847) * '' Donax lubricus''

, 1845 * '' Donax madagascariensis''

Wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...

, 1828 * '' Donax nitidus'' Deshayes, 1855 * ''

Donax obesulus ''Donax'' is the scientific name of two genera of organisms and may refer to: * ''Donax'' (bivalve), a genus of clams in the family Donacidae * ''Donax'' (plant), a genus of plants in the family Marantaceae {{Genus disambiguation ...

1854 * '' Donax obesus''

d'Orbigny Alcide Charles Victor Marie Dessalines d'Orbigny (6 September 1802 – 30 June 1857) was a French naturalist who made major contributions in many areas, including zoology (including malacology), palaeontology, geology, archaeology and anthropol ...

, 1845 * ''

Donax oweni ''Donax'' is the scientific name of two genera of organisms and may refer to: * ''Donax'' (bivalve), a genus of clams in the family Donacidae * ''Donax'' (plant), a genus of plants in the family Marantaceae {{Genus disambiguation ...

, 1843 * ''

Donax paxillus ''Donax'' is the scientific name of two genera of organisms and may refer to: * ''Donax'' (bivalve), a genus of clams in the family Donacidae * ''Donax'' (plant), a genus of plants in the family Marantaceae {{Genus disambiguation ...

, 1854 * '' Donax punctatostriatus''

, 1843 * '' Donax rothi'' Coan, 1983 * '' Donax semistriatus''

Poli __NOTOC__ Poli can refer to: Food * ''Puran Poli'', a poli made up of wheat flour and puran (sweet cooked gram paste) * A Marathi name for ''chapati'', a bread made up of wheat flour Organisations * FC Timişoara Romanian first league football cl ...

, 1795 * ''

Donax serra ''Donax'' is a genus of small, edible saltwater clams, Marine (ocean), marine bivalve molluscs. The genus is sometimes known as bean clams or wedge shells; however, ''Donax'' species have numerous different common names in different parts of the w ...

'' Röding, 1798 * '' Donax simplex''

, 1897 * '' Donax sordidus''

, 1845 * '' Donax striatus'' Linnaeus, 1767 * '' Donax texasianus''

, 1847 * '' Donax townsendi''

, 1894 * '' Donax transversus''

Sowerby I George Brettingham Sowerby I (12 August 1788 – 26 July 1854) was a British natural history, naturalist, illustrator and Conchology, conchologist. Life He was the second son of James Sowerby. George was educated at home under private tutors, ...

, 1825 * ''

Donax trunculus The truncate donax,, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian, USA. onsulted 27-09-2021 abrupt wedge shell, wedge clam or coquina clamLinnaeus,

- Locally known as ''tellin'' in French, '' tellina'' or ''telline'' in Italian, ''coquina'' in Spanish and ''conquilha'' or ''cadelinha'' in Portuguese. * ''

, 1822 - Known in Florida under the Spanish word "coquina", is the common and colorful ''Donax'' species of the southern Atlantic and Gulf shores from Virginia to the Caribbean. This species is locally abundant on beaches with fine sand from the mid-Atlantic coast to

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. * '' Donax variegatus'' (

, 1791) * '' Donax vellicatus''

, 1855 * '' Donax veneriformis'' Lamarck, 1818 * '' Donax veruinus''

, 1913 * ''

Donax vittatus ''Donax vittatus'', or the banded wedge shell, is a species of Bivalvia, bivalve mollusc in the order Cardiida. It is found on beaches in northwest Europe buried in the sand on the lower shore. Description The shells of ''Donax vittatus'' are l ...

'' ( da Costa, 1778) The empty small (15 to 25 mm) shells of ''Donax variabilis'' and ''Donax fossor'' may be found washed up on the beach, especially at low tide. The living animals can often be seen where the waves wash the sand around in the shallowest part of the

littoral zone The littoral zone 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 inundated), to coastal areas ...

as the tidal level changes. These clams can use the action of waves to move themselves up and down the beach, quickly burrowing into a new location before they can be swept away (the so-called "dance of the coquina").

References

Wildlife of Sydney - Fact File - Pipi, Goolwa Cockle, Surf Clam Fact File

Ecology

Species

References

Further reading