Baltic macoma

About this species

Limecola balthica, commonly called the Baltic macoma, Baltic clam or Baltic tellin, is a small saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Tellinidae.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Limecola balthica”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 404 records
February: 324 records
March: 1,858 records
April: 2,845 records
May: 4,929 records
June: 2,977 records
July: 1,637 records
August: 2,435 records
September: 4,103 records
October: 2,340 records
November: 1,082 records
December: 465 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 0–20 m · Deepest record: 403 m

0–10 m: 7,223 records
10–20 m: 2,583 records
20–30 m: 642 records
30–40 m: 181 records
40–50 m: 169 records
50–60 m: 85 records
60–70 m: 51 records
70–80 m: 25 records
80–90 m: 23 records
90–100 m: 20 records
100–110 m: 8 records
110+ m: 7 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 6–16 °C

6–8 °C: 77 records
8–10 °C: 178 records
10–12 °C: 362 records
12–14 °C: 143 records
14–16 °C: 5 records

Photos

(c) Marilyne Busque-Dubois, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Anne Heckmann, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Benny Albro, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Paulius Rupšas, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Paulius Rupšas, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Susan Marley, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Julia, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Baltic macoma, Baltic tellin, Baltic Macoma, Baltic Tellin, Pinkish Macoma

Names in 3 more languages

German: Baltische Plattmuschel, Baltische Tellmuschel, Plattmuschel, rote Bohne
French: petit macoma, telline Baltique, Telline de la Baltique
Japanese: バルチックシラトリ

Other scientific names: Limecola balthica, Limecola solidula, Loripes roseus, Macoma inconspicua, Sanguinolaria fusca, Tellina (Macoma) balthica, Tellina balthica, Tellina carnaria, Tellina faba, Tellina fabricii, Tellina flavescens, Tellina fragilis, Tellina fusca, Tellina groenlandica, Tellina inconspicua, Tellina neustriaca, Tellina rubra, Tellina solidula, Tellina zonata, Venus fragilis

Similar species

Macoma contabulata
Macoma incongrua
Macoma tokyoensis
Triangular Tellin
Macomona deltoidalis
Wedge Shell
Macomona liliana
Fine-ridged Tellen
Semelangulus tenuiliratus

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
135,182 open-data records from 1858 to 2025.
Species data updated November 4, 2026.