''Ensis macha'', or navaja or navajuela as it is called in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

, is a

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 ...

of the family

Pharidae Pharidae is a taxonomic family of saltwater clams, marine bivalve molluscs in the order Adapedonta. This family of clams is related to the razor shells, a family which is considered to include Pharidae by some authorities. Genera Genera within ...

. It inhabits the coasts of

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

and southern

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. It is different from the clam colloquially known as the

macha Macha () was a sovereignty goddess of ancient Ireland associated with the province of Ulster, particularly the sites of Navan Fort (''Eamhain Mhacha'') and Armagh (''Ard Mhacha''), which are named after her.Koch, John T. ''Celtic Culture: A His ...

in Chile. ''Ensis macha'' lives in sand or muddy sediments in the

subtidal zone The neritic zone (or sublittoral zone) is the relatively shallow part of the ocean above the drop-off of the continental shelf, approximately in depth. From the point of view of marine biology it forms a relatively stable and well-illuminated ...

, where it can burrow to a depth of up to 13 metres. ''Ensis macha'' is one of the world's economically most significant ''

Ensis ''Ensis'' is a genus of medium-sized edible saltwater clams, littoral bivalve molluscs in the family Pharidae. ''Ensis'', or razor clams, are known in much of Scotland as spoots, for the spouts of water they eject while burrowing into the sand, ...

'' species, with a total catch of 6,000 tons in Chile in 1999. Sernapesca 2000. Anuario estadístico de pesca.

References

{{Commonscat Pharidae Molluscs of South America Molluscs of Chile Molluscs described in 1782