''Paphies subtriangulata'' is a species of edible bivalve

clam Clam is a common name for several kinds of bivalve molluscs. The word is often applied only to those that are edible and live as infauna, spending most of their lives halfway buried in the sand of the seafloor or riverbeds. Clams have two shel ...

known as tuatua in the Māori language, a member of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Mesodesmatidae ''Mesodesmatidae'' is a family of saltwater clams, marine bivalve mollusks in the order Venerida.MolluscaBase eds. (2020). MolluscaBase. Mesodesmatidae Gray, 1840. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://www.marinespecies.o ...

and

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. It is found on all three of the main New Zealand islands, buried in fine clean sand on ocean beaches. The large shell is asymmetrical, with the hinge at one side. Its closest relative, the pipi (''

Paphies australis ''Paphies australis'' or pipi (from the Māori language) is a bivalve mollusc of the family Mesodesmatidae, endemic to New Zealand. MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Paphies australis (Gmelin, 1791). Accessed through: World Register of Ma ...

''), has a symmetrical shell. Ohope Tua Tuas

The soft parts of the animal are an edible delicacy, made into fritters or boiled and served on the shell. Historically the species has been used as a food source by the

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

, and its shell is a common component of excavated Māori

middens A midden (also kitchen midden or shell heap) is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofac ...

. The clam burrows beneath the sand, and does so very quickly, making it a challenge to dig for at times. It also squirts water when threatened. All tuatua are protected with legal limits on their capture. In some areas one digger may bag no more than 50 to 150 tuatuas per day, depending on location.

Subspecies

Three subspecies have been recognised: *''Paphies subtriangulata subtriangulata'' (Wood, 1828)
Distribution: throughout North and South Islands
Maximum length is , height , and thickness . *''Paphies subtriangulata porrecta'' ( Marwick, 1928)
Distribution:

Chatham Islands The Chatham Islands ( ) (Moriori: ''Rēkohu'', 'Misty Sun'; mi, Wharekauri) are an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean about east of New Zealand's South Island. They are administered as part of New Zealand. The archipelago consists of about te ...

Maximum length: , maximum height: . *''Paphies subtriangulata quoyii'' ( Deshayes, 1832)
Distribution: throughout North and South Islands
Size: Thicker relative to length - Maximum length is , height , and thickness .

References

* Powell A. W. B., ''New Zealand Mollusca'', William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 {{Taxonbar, from=Q3017042 Commercial molluscs Bivalves of New Zealand Endemic fauna of New Zealand Mesodesmatidae Bivalves described in 1828 Taxa named by William Wood (zoologist) New Zealand seafood Endemic molluscs of New Zealand