| Alternate Common Names |
N/A |
| Range |
N/A |
| Habitat |
N/A |
| Substrate |
Medium-soft sand, compact clay, coarse gravel, sand/mud mix, gravel, or mud (Cheney and Mumford 1986, Newell and Hidu 1986 in Emmett et al. 1991) |
| Depth range (meters) |
N/A |
| Behavior |
N/A |
| General Temperature Range (°C) |
N/A |
| General Salinity Range (ppt) |
Euryhaline species found in mesohaline and polyhaline water (Emmett et al. 1991)
5 (can tolerate this low)
Larvae more sensitive than adults (Newell and Hidu 1986 in Emmett et al. 1991)
Tolerance inversely related to temperature (Emmett et al. 1991) |
| Maximum Overall Recorded Size (cm) |
N/A |
| Maximum Recorded Size for Males (cm) |
N/A |
| Maximum Recorded Size for Females (cm) |
N/A |
| Average Maximum Overall Length (cm) |
N/A |
| Average Maximum Overall Length for Males (cm) |
N/A |
| Average Maximum Overall Length for Females (cm) |
N/A |
| Average Maximum weight (kg) |
N/A |
| Average Maximum weight for Males (cm) |
N/A |
| Average Maximum weight for Females (cm) |
N/A |
| Length When Harvested (cm) |
5–7.5 (Washington) (Oceanographic Institute of Washington 1981, Cheney and Mumford 1986 both in Emmett et al. 1991) |
| Weight When Harvested (kg) |
N/A |
| Overall Length to Age Ratio (cm/age in years) |
N/A |
| Male Length to Age Ratio (cm/age in years) |
N/A |
| Female Length to Age Ratio (cm/age in years) |
N/A |
| Overall Maximum Age (years) |
28 (MacDonald and Thomas 1980 in Emmett et al. 1991)
10–12 (normal maximum age) (Brousseau 1978, Brousseau and Baglivo 1987 in Emmett et al. 1991) |
| Maximum Age for Males (years) |
N/A |
| Maximum Age for Females (years) |
N/A |
| Age when Harvested (years) |
2–3 (Washington) (Oceanographic Institute of Washington 1981, Cheney and Mumford 1986 both in Emmett et al. 1991)
May reach harvestable size faster off the coast of Oregon (Emmett et al. 1991) |
| Overall Growth Rate |
Depends on substrate (Newell and Hidu 1982 in Emmett et al. 1991) |
| Male Growth Rate |
N/A |
| Female Growth Rate |
N/A |
| Overall Age at Maturity (years) |
1 (Iversen and Hale 1992) |
| Male Age at Maturity (years) |
N/A |
| Female Age at Maturity (years) |
N/A |
| Overall Length at Maturity (cm) |
2.5–4.5 (Porter 1974 in Emmett et al. 1991) |
| Male Length at Maturity (cm) |
N/A |
| Female Length at Maturity (cm) |
N/A |
| Maturity/Temperature Relationship |
N/A |
| Type of Reproduction |
Gonochoristic (some hermaphrodites reported), oviparous, iteroparous
Broadcast spawner (Porter 1974, Brousseau 1978, Brousseau 1987 all in Emmett et al. 1991) |
| Fecundity |
120,000–1,000,000 (Brousseau 1978, Newell and Hidu 1986 both in Emmett et al. 1991)
Millions (Iversen and Hale 1992) |
| Spawning Habitat |
N/A |
| Spawning Behavior |
Male first releases pheromones and sperm to initiate female (Newell and Hidu 1986 in Emmett et al. 1991) |
| Time of Year of Spawning |
May–September
June and July (peak off Washington) (Porter 1974 in Emmett et al. 1991) |
| Number of Spawns per season |
N/A |
| Spawning/Temperature Relationship (°C) |
Temperature controls spawning time (Emmett et al. 1991)
Depends on latitude
10–15 (on Pacific Coast) (Simel 1980 in Emmett et al. 1991) |
| Spawning/Salinity Relationship |
N/A |
| Description of Eggs |
Pelagic (Emmett et al. 1991) |
| Habitat where Eggs are found |
N/A |
| Time to Hatch |
12 hours post-fertilization it becomes a trocophore
24–36 hours for trocophore to change to veliger (Emmett et al. 1991) |
| Time of Year when Eggs Hatch |
N/A |
| Temperature for Egg Survival (°C) |
N/A |
| Salinity for Egg Survival (ppt) |
N/A |
| Predators on Eggs |
Less than 0.1% of eggs settle (Newell and Hidu 1986 in Emmett et al. 1991) |
| Habitat where Larvae are found |
Pelagic (Emmett et al. 1991) |
| Days in Larval Stage |
14–42 to change to spat (settle out)
Metamorphosed spat spent 2–5 weeks crawling on bottom (Emmett et al. 1991) |
| Temperature for Larval Survival (°C) |
Temperature regulates length of veliger stage (Emmett et al. 1991) |
| Salinity for Larval Survival (ppt) |
N/A |
| Larval Food Preference |
Trochophore eat suspended particles
Veliger eats Phytoplankton (Abraham and Dillon 1986, Newell and Hidu 1986 both in Emmett et al. 1991) |
| Habitat where Juveniles are found |
Benthic infauna (Emmett et al. 1991) |
| Length when Juvenile Settles out (cm) |
N/A |
| Temperature for Juvenile Survival (°C) |
N/A |
| Salinity for Juvenile Survival (ppt) |
N/A |
| Where and When Juvenile Feeds |
N/A |
| Juvenile Food Preference |
Mainly–Flagellates, Diatoms
Also–Bacteria, Dissolved organic material, Organic detritus (Abraham and Dillon 1986, Newell and Hidu 1986 both in Emmett et al. 1991) |
| Habitat where Adults are found (depth in meters) |
Benthic infauna (Emmett et al. 1991) |
| Temperature for Adult Survival (°C) |
N/A |
| Salinity for Adult Survival (ppt) |
N/A |
| Adult Feeding Type |
N/A |
| Adult Food Preference |
Mainly Dinoflagellates (Iversen and Hale 1992)
Mainly Flagellates, Diatoms
Also Bacteria, Dissolved organic material, Organic detritus (Abraham and Dillon 1986, Newell and Hidu 1986 both in Emmett et al. 1991) |
| Food Eaten in Laboratory Setting |
Survives in aquariums with open system or with algal culture in a closed system (Anderson 2001) |
| Amount of Food Eaten in Laboratory Setting |
N/A |
| Additional Laboratory Findings |
In aquarium the individuals must have sand or gravel to bury in (Anderson 2001) |
| Environmental Considerations |
Relatively tolerant to pollution (Emmett et al. 1991)
Can function as facultative anaerobe at low tide (Collip 1920 in Emmett et al. 1991) |
| Commercial Fishery |
Limited commercial harvest off Oregon due to small population size (Emmett et al. 1991) |
| Market |
"A very strong market exists for this clam . . . " (Iversen and Hale 1992)
Not as valuable as some bivalves on the Pacific Coast (Emmett et al. 1991) |
| Sold Fresh or Frozen |
N/A |
| Style Species is Sold |
N/A |
| Additional Use of the Species |
N/A |
| Shelf-life in Fresh State (days at 40°F) |
N/A |
| Shelf-life in Frozen State (months at 0°F) |
N/A |
| Shelf-life Canned (months) |
N/A |
| Weight sold in Oregon (kg) |
N/A |
| Ornamental Market |
N/A |
| Parasites or Disease |
Viruses, Bacteria, Protozoans, Trematodes, Nemerteans, Nematodes, Mollusks, Crustaceans, Neoplastic "tumors" (Iversen and Hale 1992) |
| Additional Remarks |
N/A |
| Location where Species has been Researched/Farmed |
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Gloucester Point
South Carolina (Iversen and Hale 1992) |
| Appropriate Aquaculture Systems |
N/A |
