Anadara ovalis
Encyclopedia
Anadara ovalis, or the blood ark clam, is a clam
in the family
Arcidae. It can be found along the Atlantic coast of North America, ranging from Massachusetts
to the West Indies and Brazil
. It resides from the low-tide line to a depth of ten feet.
The blood ark clam is often noted for its appearance, for it usually can be found two-thirds covered by Periostracum
, or dark brown fur. It also noted for its red blood, which is a result of it containing hemoglobin; this makes it different from the majority of mollusks and earned it its name. The size of it typically is between one and three inches.
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...
in the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Arcidae. It can be found along the Atlantic coast of North America, ranging from Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
to the West Indies and Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. It resides from the low-tide line to a depth of ten feet.
The blood ark clam is often noted for its appearance, for it usually can be found two-thirds covered by Periostracum
Periostracum
The periostracum is a thin organic coating or "skin" which is the outermost layer of the shell of many shelled animals, including mollusks and brachiopods. Among mollusks it is primarily seen in snails and clams, i.e. in bivalves and gastropods, but it is also found in cephalopods such as the...
, or dark brown fur. It also noted for its red blood, which is a result of it containing hemoglobin; this makes it different from the majority of mollusks and earned it its name. The size of it typically is between one and three inches.
Sources
- http://www.enature.com/fieldguides/detail.asp?recNum=SS0068
- http://barnegatshellfish.org/ark_clams02.htm