Stats

Lifespan: 1-2 years
Size: Small
Diet: Filter Feeder
Activity: Cathemeral
Social: Colony
Biome: Sandy beach
Range: North America
Movement: Burrowing
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Burrowing
Status: Uncommon

About

This tiny clam lives in the wet sand of warm, shallow ocean beaches. It uses a muscular foot to rapidly burrow back into the surf whenever a wave recedes.

Life cycle

1.
juvenile
A juvenile mollusk takes adult form after its larval phase and begins building or growing its shell.
2.
adult
Fully grown at adult shell size or body length.

Learn more

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Bivalvia
Order: Cardiida
Family: Donacidae
Genus: Donax
Species: Donax variabilis