''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 contrast ...

coquina, 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 two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of small edible saltwater clam, a

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 ...

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 coa ...

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 th ...

to Florida including East Florida, West Florida and the

Florida Keys The Florida Keys are a 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 Miami, and e ...

.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 o ...

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 class of parasites. It develops within the germinal cells of the sporocyst or redia. A cercaria has a tapering head with large penetration glands. It may or may not have a long sw ...

e, sporocysts) of at least three species of

digenea Digenea (Gr. ''Dis'' – double, ''Genos'' – race) is a class of trematodes in the Platyhelminthes phylum, consisting of parasitic flatworms (known as ''flukes'') with a syncytial tegument and, usually, two suckers, one ventral and one oral. ...

ns (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