Oregon Bay Clam Identification* Fish &Wiidiite Clams Harvested in Oregon Estuaries

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Fish &Wildlife Oregon bay clam identification* Fish &WiIdIite Clams harvested in Oregon estuaries

Gaper Tresus capax Butter Saxidomus giganteus Cockle Clinocardium nuttallii Littleneck Protothaca staminea Softshell Mya arenaria (Empire, horseneck, blue) (Beefsteak, Martha Washington) (Heart cockle, Nutall’s cockle) (Steamer, native littleneck) (Mud clam, eastern soft-shell) • Identified by the large gape around neck and concentric rings • Identified by its smooth concentric rings. • Identified by its prominent radiating ridges. • Identified by concentric rings and radiating ridges. • Identified by its concentric rings and oblong of the shell. End of neck is covered by leathery sheath. • Found in lower areas of large estuaries. • Their powerful foot allows them to quickly escape • Longer lived and less abundant than cockles. egg shape, slightly pointed at the neck end. • Commensal pea crab pairs are often found within their mantle. predators such as sea stars. • Native to East coast of US, introduced in • Meat content of gaper clams is generally highest in the winter. the late 1800s.

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size 1½-3” size 1½ -2½” size 2-4” size 2-4” Purple varnish clam Nuttallia obscurata Razor clam Silqua patula • Identified by varnish-like coating and purple interior. • Identified by its thin oval shell and smooth • Exterior coloration is often dark • Native to Japan, introduced to Oregon in the 1990s. brown coating. • Occassionally found within estuaries. • A comparison between a softshell interior size 3-6” (top) and small gaper (bottom). Note the difference in shell • A thin skin-like coating shape of the area called periostracum is often around the neck. found on the shells of smaller gaper clams. size 1½-3” size 3-6” Other intertidal clams Bivalves found near pilings and rocks

Bent-nose macoma Macoma nasuta Bodega tellen Jackknife clam Solen sicarius Arctic hiatella Hiatella arctica Rough piddock Zirfaea pilsbryi Northwest ugly clam Entodesma saxicola • Found throughout estuaries. Tellina bodegensis • Similar color to razor clams, but • Primarily found in lower estuary. • Identified by gape at neck end and • Identified by their distinctive shape and orange color. • Like other macoma clams, is generally sandy • Found in the lower with a distinctive “knife-like” shape. • A nestling clam found amoung mussels teeth (for burrowing) at foot end. • Often found clinging to docks or nestled in rocks. and not very palatable. estuaries and on sandy • Common subtidally. and in vacant holes of burrowing clams. • A burrowing clam, found in rock or beaches. sandstone.

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size 1½-3” size 1-1½” size 3-5” size 2-4” size 1½-3” size 1½-2” Bend of neck end Blue mussels Mytilus edulis Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas Native oyster Ostrea conchaphila Pacific falsejingle Pododesmus cepio Baltic macoma Macoma balthica White sand macoma • Identified by oblong shape, and • Grown commercially, native to Japan. • Found in upper estuarine areas of • Often found attached to docks. • A small clam found in middle estuary. Macoma secta iridescent color of their interior shell. • Much larger than native oyster. Coos, Yaquina, and Netarts. • Is often mistaken for a scallop or oyster, distinguished by • Interior often rose colored, but can also • One of the largest macoma clams. • Smaller than the California mussel, • Species name “conchaphila” translates its muscular attachment on left valve and green interior. be blue or yellow. • Distinctive ridge at neck end. which has radiating ridges and is not to “shell loving” due to their shell common to estuaries. settlement preference. interior

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size 1-2” size 2-4” ) size 1-2” size 3-5” size 3-8” size 1½-3” Right valve Left valve (exterior) * There are many other species of bivalves found in Oregon; these species are among the most commonly encountered. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlfie, Marine Resources Program, 2040 SE Marine Science Dr. Newport, OR 97365 ** Size measurements given are average range of shell height typically found by recreational users. ODFW Newport (541) 867-4741, Charleston (541) 888-5515, Astoria (503) 325-2462, ODA shellfish hotline (800) 448-2474 For more information on Oregon shellfish, visit www.dfw.state.or.us/MRP/shellfish. All photographs by Scott Groth, ODFW, except when noted. (printed 2007)