The pod razor (''Ensis siliqua'') is a

coast The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...

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 ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an waters. It is edible and has been fished commercially, especially in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

.Consequences of hydraulic dredging for a razor clam Ensis siliqua (L.) bed in the north-west Irish Sea
/ref> ''Ensis siliqua'' is also known as the razor fish,

razor clam Razor clam is a common name for long, narrow, saltwater clams (which resemble a closed straight razor in shape), in the genera ''Ensis'', '' Siliqua'', ''Solecurtus'', and '' Solen'', including: * Atlantic jackknife clam, ''Ensis directus'' *Razor ...

or giant razor. There is at least one

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

: ''E. s. minor''.

Description

of the shell are elongated and reach a length of up to . The two sides are straight and parallel. The colour is creamy white, sometimes with brownish stripes, and the periostracum is olive green. It is sculptured with fine lines and growth marks can be seen. The anterior end is truncated while the posterior end is rounded.Conchological Society of Great Britain and Ireland
/ref> It has a very large foot and is capable of burrowing in the fine, hard-packed muddy sediments that it favours. where it is associated with the starfish (''

Astropecten irregularis ''Astropecten irregularis'' is a sea star of the family Astropectinidae. Common names include Sand sea star (A. i. pontoporeus).Jones, Georgina. ''A field guide to the marine animals of the Cape Peninsula.'' SURG, Cape Town, 2008. Habitat and ...

'') and the common otter shell ''(

Lutraria lutraria ''Lutraria lutraria'' is a species of large marine bivalve mollusc in the family Mactridae. Its common names include the otter shell and the common otter shell. It occurs in coastal regions of the north east Atlantic Ocean where it lives burie ...

'').

Distribution and habitat

''Ensis siliqua'' is found in coastal areas of the north east Atlantic Ocean from the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the Mediterranean Sea.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q338353 Pharidae Marine molluscs of Europe Molluscs described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus