Large-neck clam

Mya arenaria

Molluscs
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth0–15 m
Water temperature5–20 °C
Best monthsApril and May
How commonCommon

Photo credit: (c) Jon Mortin, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Jon Mortin · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Soft-shell clams or Sand gaper, scientific name Mya arenaria, popularly called "steamers", "softshells", "piss clams", "Ipswich clams", or "Essex clams", are a species of edible saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Myidae.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Soft-shell clam”, 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: 652 records
February: 568 records
March: 1,744 records
April: 4,220 records
May: 5,868 records
June: 2,909 records
July: 1,975 records
August: 2,183 records
September: 2,595 records
October: 2,319 records
November: 1,608 records
December: 795 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 0–15 m · Deepest record: 329 m

0–10 m: 8,057 records
10–20 m: 2,632 records
20–30 m: 333 records
30–40 m: 125 records
40–50 m: 33 records
50–60 m: 15 records
60–70 m: 17 records
70–80 m: 1 records
80–90 m: 4 records
90–100 m: 1 records
100–110 m: 1 records
110+ m: 12 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 5–20 °C

4–6 °C: 3 records
6–8 °C: 8 records
8–10 °C: 86 records
10–12 °C: 458 records
12–14 °C: 83 records
14–16 °C: 5 records
16–18 °C: 0 records
18–20 °C: 0 records
20–22 °C: 1 records

Photos

(c) Andrey Polstianoi, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Andrey Polstianoi · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved, uploaded by Jean-Paul Boerekamps · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Leïla Brunner, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Violet T., some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Jonathan Layman, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) James Weaver, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Large-neck clam, Long necked clam, Manila clam, Sand gaper, Smooth butter clam, Softshell, large-neck clam, Large-neck Clam, long necked clam, Long Necked Clam, Manila Clam, sand gaper, Sand-gaper, Sand Gaper, Sand Gaper, Softshell Clam, Long Necked Clam, Steamer Clam, Smooth Butter Clam, Soft clam, softshell, softshell clam, Softshell Clam, soft-shelled clam, Soft-shelled Clam, steamer, Steamer, steamer clam, Steamer Clam

Names in 4 more languages

German: Große Sandklaffmuschel, Klaffmuschel, Sandklaffmuschel, Sandmuschel, Strandauster
French: bec de jar, clauque, mye, mye des sables, Mye des sables, Bec de jar, Clauque
Japanese: セイヨウオオノガイ
Simplified Chinese: 砂海螂

Other scientific names: Arenomya arenaria, Mya (Arenomya) arenaria, Mya acuta, Mya alba, Mya communis, Mya corpulenta, Mya declivis, Mya elongata, Mya hemphilli, Mya lata, Mya mercenaria, Mya oonogai, Mya subovata, Mya subtruncata, Sphenia ovoidea

Similar species

Cryptomya elliptica

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).
60,763 open-data records from 1858 to 2025.
Species data updated November 4, 2026.

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