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Macoma inquinata
Common name(s): Irus clam, pointed macoma
Size:
Up to 55mm
Range:
Alaska to California (rarely found south of Santa Barbara)
Habitat:
Intertidal to 50m. Prefers substrates of soft, muddy sand and eel grass beds in protected waters.
Misidentification:
Macoma secta, Macoma nasuta, Mya arenaria
Life History:
Unlike most bivalves, Macoma inquinata is not suspension filter feeder but a deposit filter feeder. Its siphons are separated. The inhalant siphon takes up detritus and organic matter directly from the substrate while the exhalant siphon deposits the indigestible particles and sediment elsewhere.
Predators:
Shore birds, Polinices lewisii, Pisaster spp.
*"Size" refers to shell length only and only gives the largest average size for the given species.
Last updated Tuesday, August 29, 2006, by Lisa Ferrier
