Historically, wild populations of the Asiatic clam were exploited and harvested, to the extent that , locally, the clams once faced endangerment or extinction. Today, the clam thrives throughout the world.
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: no special status
The clam creates a problem for power plants by blocking the ventalation systems and the water intake valves. Combined costs of outages, reductions in efficiency, capital investment in equipment, labor and chemical control, exceed 1 billion annually.
The Asiatic clam is a major source of food and is harvested by humans throughout the world. The clam, when removed from its shell, also makes good fishbait.
The Asiatic clam is a filter-feeding bivalve. It filters microscopic organisms, such as plankton, from the water.
The Asiatic clam is found throughout Asia, North and South America, Europe and parts of Africa. The clam occurs primarily in streams south of 40 degrees latitude in the northern hemisphere.
Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native ); palearctic (Native ); oriental (Native ); neotropical (Native )
The Asiatic clam prefers a lake or stream that has a a sandy or gravel substrate. However, they are also located underneath large boulders and in soft silts of deepwater lakes. The clam thrives better in fast flowing waters because the currents supply a constant source of the particulate food that the clam consumes.
Aquatic Biomes: lakes and ponds; rivers and streams
Other Physical Features: ectothermic ; bilateral symmetry
The Asiatic clam is hermaphroditic, with single genopores on each sides of the body. Reproduction and larval release occurs biannually in the spring and in the late summer. The clam is believed to practice self-fertilization, enabling rapid colony regeneration when colony populations are low.
