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White Clam
Donax serra
Donax is a genus of small, edible saltwater clams, marine bivalve molluscs with highly variable color patterns. The genus is sometimes known as bean clams or wedge shells; however, Donax species have different common names in different parts of the world. In the southeastern U.S. they are known as "coquina", a word that is also used for the hard limestone concretions of their shells and those of other marine organisms. They are called "Chip Chip" in...
From the article Donax (bivalve) on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
What it does
Species of Donax live in the swash zone, sometimes in high concentrations, vertically aligned in the sand on exposed beaches, on tropical and temperate coasts worldwide. When the waves wash these small clams out of the sand, they can dig back in again quite rapidly. They are phytoplankton filter feeders. They are an important source of food for crabs, fish and shorebirds. They are sensitive to environmental conditions and are considered an indicator of beach habitat health. Some species, such as Donax variabilis, migrate vertically and horizontally with changes in the tides. The genus enjoys a global distribution. These coquina clams are found extensively on the east coast beaches of Trinidad (Mayaro) and widely available in Venezuela.
Wikipedia: “Ecology”
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Donax serra in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 466906.