Distribution
These clams live buried in the sediment on tidal flats. While they are common in muddy areas, their name "arenaria" means sandy and they prefer a combination of sandy and muddy areas. They are well known as a food item on the coast of New England in the Western Atlantic Ocean; however, the range extends much farther north to Canada and south to the Southern states.They are also found in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean, for example in the UK, as well as in the North Sea's Wadden Sea.
This species has become invasive on the Pacific Coast of North America, including Alaska, Canada and the continental United States. However "M. arenaria" originated in the Pacific Ocean during the Miocene. It extended its range in the early Pliocene to the Atlantic, including European waters. The Pacific and European populations became extinct some time in the early Pleistocene, leaving only the Northwest Atlantic population, which subsequently spread via humans to its current distribution. It also occurs in the Mediterranean Sea.
Habitat
These clams live buried in the sediment on tidal flats. While they are common in muddy areas, their name "arenaria" means sandy and they prefer a combination of sandy and muddy areas. They are well known as a food item on the coast of New England in the Western Atlantic Ocean; however, the range extends much farther north to Canada and south to the Southern states.They are also found in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean, for example in the UK, as well as in the North Sea's Wadden Sea.
This species has become invasive on the Pacific Coast of North America, including Alaska, Canada and the continental United States. However "M. arenaria" originated in the Pacific Ocean during the Miocene. It extended its range in the early Pliocene to the Atlantic, including European waters. The Pacific and European populations became extinct some time in the early Pleistocene, leaving only the Northwest Atlantic population, which subsequently spread via humans to its current distribution. It also occurs in the Mediterranean Sea.
Predators
As well as being eaten by humans, the soft-shelled clam is relished by sea otters in the eastern Pacific Ocean, where the clam is an invasive species. In New England the soft-shell clam is preyed heavily upon by northern moon snails and invasive green crabs. They are also a favorite of sea gulls, which pull the clam from the sand, climb to about 15–20 ft, and then drop the clam on a hard surface, breaking the shell. They then dive down quickly to eat the soft parts of the clam before others can get to it.References:
Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.
