Spisula solida

This article is about a clam found in the Eastern Atlantic. For a related species from US waters, see Atlantic surf clam.

The surf clam (Spisula solida) is a medium-sized marine clam, or bivalve mollusc, found in the Eastern Atlantic from Iceland and northern Norway to Portugal and Spain. Up to 5 centimetres (2.0 in) long, like many clams, the surf clam is a sediment-burrowing filter feeder.

Surf clam
External view of a shell of the surf clam
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Bivalvia
Order:	Venerida
Superfamily:	Mactroidea
Family:	Mactridae
Genus:	Spisula
Species:	S. solida
Binomial name
Spisula solida (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
Cardium solidum Linnaeus, 1758 Cardium triste Linnaeus, 1758 Cyrena panormitana Bivona, 1839 Mactra castanea Lamarck, 1818 Mactra crassatella Lamarck, 1818 Mactra gallina Spengler, 1802 Mactra ovalis J. Sowerby, 1817 Mactra solida (Linnaeus, 1758) Mactra striata Nyst, 1845 Mactra truncata Montagu, 1808 Spisula ovalis (J. Sowerby, 1817) Trigonella gallina da Costa, 1778 Trigonella zonaria da Costa, 1778

Right and left valve of the same specimen:

• 
  Right valve
• 
  Left valve

This species of clam is found in sandy bottom in the sublittoral zone. It is commonly found in the North Sea, Baltic Sea and the Irish Sea.