Macoma balthica, commonly

Common name

A common name of a taxon or organism is a name in general use within a community; it is often contrasted with the scientific name for the same organism...

 called the Baltic macoma, Baltic clam or Baltic tellin, is a small saltwater clam

Clam

The word "clam" can be applied to freshwater mussels, and other freshwater bivalves, as well as marine bivalves.In the United States, "clam" can be used in several different ways: one, as a general term covering all bivalve molluscs...

, a marine

Marine (ocean)

Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...

 bivalve mollusk in the family Tellinidae

Tellinidae

Tellinidae is a family of marine bivalve molluscs of the order Veneroida. They live under soft sediments in shallow seas.-Characteristics:Tellinids have rounded or oval, elongated shells, much flattened. The two valves are connected by a large external ligament. The two separate siphons are...

 (the macomas and tellins).

The shell size of this species is up to 25 to 35 mm in maximum dimension, and the shell is white, sometimes with a pink tint. This clam lives in muddy bays, and can tolerate brackish water.

Distribution

Macoma balthica lives in the northern parts of both the Atlantic and Pacific ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

s, and also extends to the Subarctic

Subarctic

The Subarctic is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic and covering much of Alaska, Canada, the north of Scandinavia, Siberia, and northern Mongolia...

 both in North America and in Europe. The European distribution ranges from southern France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 to the White Sea

White Sea

The White Sea is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is surrounded by Karelia to the west, the Kola Peninsula to the north, and the Kanin Peninsula to the northeast. The whole of the White Sea is under Russian sovereignty and considered to be part of...

 and Pechora Sea

Pechora Sea

Pechora Sea , is a sea at the northwest of Russia, the southeastern part of the Barents Sea. The western border of the sea is off Kolguyev Island, while the eastern border is the western coasts of Vaygach Island and the Yugorsky Peninsula, and the northern border the southern end of Novaya...

, and also includes the inner brackish parts of the Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...

. In North America, M. balthica is distributed from the Gulf of St. Lawrence Bay north to Hudson Bay

Hudson Bay

Hudson Bay , sometimes called Hudson's Bay, is a large body of saltwater in northeastern Canada. It drains a very large area, about , that includes parts of Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta, most of Manitoba, southeastern Nunavut, as well as parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota,...

, in the Pacific from Washington to the Beaufort Sea

Beaufort Sea

The Beaufort Sea is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located north of the Northwest Territories, the Yukon, and Alaska, west of Canada's Arctic islands. The sea is named after hydrographer Sir Francis Beaufort...

 in Alaska, and also on the Russian coast. Along the U.S. Atlantic and Pacific coasts (Oregon to south), M. balthica is replaced by a similar species Macoma petalum.

External links

• Macoma balthica (Linnaeus, 1758) Conchological Society of Great Britain and Ireland.