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Macoma nasuta
Common name(s): Bent nose clam
Size:
Up to 70mm
Range:
Alaska to S. California
Habitat:
Intertidal to 50m. Prefers mud to muddy sand substrates situated in quiet waters and can burrow down to 15cm.
Misidentification:
Macoma secta, Macoma inquinata
Life History:
A dioecious species that spawns in early summer. Unlike most bivalves, Macoma nasuta is not a 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., Cancer productus, Cancer gracilis, Cancer magister.
*"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
