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Man and Mollusc's Data Base of Edible Molluscs

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Mollusc
Image
Links
Countries where found and eaten
C =
Commercially
Harvested

A= Aquaculture
Recipes
Miscellaneous
Information
Other Links
 
MALLEIDAE
Hammer oysters
 
 
  • Malleus regula (Forsskål, 1775)

Straight hammeroyster,
Japan: Niwatorigaki

Syn:

  • Fundella lioyi de Gregorio, 1884
  • Ostrea regula Forsskål, 1775
  • Malvifundus regula


URL
URL

 

 

 

 

Species coming from the Red Sea by Suez Canal, expanding; sometimes very common in the Mediterranean,
Japan

 

 

 

 

 
URL

Photo Source

 

 

MELONGENIDAE
Melon and Swamp
Conch
 
  • Melongena
    melongena
    (Linné, 1758)

Crown conch,
West Indian Crown
Conch

URL
URL
Venezuela,
W Indies
       
 
 

Busycon

  • carica
    (Gmelin, 1791)
    Knobbed whelk
    formerly Fulgar
    carica
  • canaliculatum
    (Linnaeus, 1758)
    Channeled whelk

 

  • Caribbean, Bahamas
  • Cape Cod southward to northern Florida and the Gulf of Mexico

 
Georgia And New Jersey State Shell
   
  • Bahamians flattenthem out with a mallet something like scaloppini, then they dredge it in flour and spices and onto a hot grill
  • The muscular foot must be beaten or thinly sliced to overcome its rubberiness. With its relatives it is sold in Chinese markets, and is the main ingredient of the Italian disk scungili
 

 

 

MESODESMATIDAE
Wedge Clams
 
  • Mesodesma
    donacinum
    (Lamarck, 1818)

Giant wedge clam,
pink clam, Fr.: Clovisse chilienne,
Sp: Almeja

URL
URL
Peru to Chile
C
   
URL
 
 
  • Paphies australis (Gmelin, 1791)
URL
URL
         
 

 

 

MITIDAE
(Miters)
 
 
  • Mitra zonata
    Marryat, 1818
Zoned Miter
URL
URL
Montinegro Coast
 
Croatian
cuisine
 
URL
 
 
  • Pusia ebenus
    (Lamarck,
    J.B.P., 1811)
Ebony miter
URL
URL

Montinegro Coast,
Mediterranean; W Europe

 
Croatian
cuisine
Mitra (Strigatella) ebenus Lamarck, J.B.P., 1811
URL
 

 

MOPALIIDAE: See Polyplacophoras on Page #6
Chitons

 

MURICIDAE
Murex Shells

 

 

 

  • From a Conch-L source: "Mediterranean muricid snails and relatives have a salivary toxin known to cause human illness, even death, after ingestion (yet many, many people eat these shellfish without ill effects). This is murexine, which is chemically better studied than most marine biotoxins. It's very closely associated with the purple pigment of Phoenician maritime commerce, etc."
  • URL
  • URL
 
   
  • Bolinus brandaris
    (Linnaeus, 1758)

Purple dye murex,
Es - Cañailla;
Fr - Murex-droite épine

URL
URL
URL

 

Mediterranean Sea and N.W. Africa.

C: Italy, Spain

 

Croatian cuisine

 

   
  • Spain: called Canadilla: It's a typical snack in the bars of Andalucia and as far as I know, the soft parts are cut into pieces and are broiled, but I am not sure. I will try and confirm this ASAP. (AMG)
  • Served in olive oil with aromatic herbs
 
  • Concholepas concholepas
    (Bruguière, J.G.,
    1792)

Barnacle Rock-shell

URL
URL
URL
Chile and Peru

C

A-URL

     
 
 
  • Hexaplex duplex
URL
URL
URL
Senegal
C
     
 
 
  • Hexaplex (Trunculariopsis) trunculus
    (Linnaeus, C., 1758)

Trunculus Murex

URL
URL
URL
Mediterranean; adj. W Atlantic
( Italy, Spain)
C
Croatian cuisine
 
URL
Spain: called Canadilla: It's a typical snack in the bars of Andalucia and as far as I know, the soft parts are cut into pieces and are broiled, but I am not sur. I will try and confirm this ASAP. (AMG)
 
  • Neothais harpa
    (Conrad T.A., 1837)
URL
URL
URL
Hawaii (endemic)
       
 
 
  • Phyllonotus margaritensis
URL
URL
URL
Venezuela
C
     
 
 
  • Phyllonotus
    trunculatus
URL
URL
URL
Mediterranean
   
Croatian cuisine
URL
 
 
  • Purpura aperta
    (Blainville,
    H.M.D. de, )
URL
Indo Pacific: Hawaii
       
 
 
  • Rapana bezoar
URL
URL
URL
China: Yellow Sea
       
 
 
  • Rapana
    giganteus
URL
URL
URL
Chile
C
     
 
 
  • Rapana venosa
URL
URL
URL
Bulgaria, Rumania, Turkey
C
     
 
 
  • Siratus alabaster
URL
URL
URL
Japan, Philippines
       
 
 
  • Stramonita haemastoma
    (Linne, 1758)

Red-mouthed Rock Shell

URL
URL
URL
Mediterranean; NW Africa
       
Stramonita haemastoma is eaten in Corsica and in other mediterranean islands,
 
  • Stramonita haemastoma
    floridana
    (Conrad, 1837)

Red-mouthed Rock Shell

URL
URL
URL
SE USA - Brazil
       
 
 
  • Thais chocolata
URL
URL
URL
Chile
C
     
 
 
  • Thais
    haemastoma
URL
URL
URL
Spain
C
     

 

 

 
MYCETOPODIDAE
Amazonian freshwater soft-shelled clams
From the order Unionoida
             
Anodontites spp. URL
URL
URL
         
  URL: the Amazonian soft-shell clams (Anodontites spp.) locally named tumbacuchara,

 

 

 
MYIDAE
Soft-Shell Clams
 
  • Mya arenaria
    (Linnaeus, 1758)

Steamer, longneck, belly clam, Ipswich clam, maninose, squirt clam, fryer, gaper, common sand gaper

URL

URL
URL
URL

  • Atlantic USA (main commercial sources are Maine, Cape Cod and Maryland. )
  • Mediterranean
    (reported from Gulf of Lion N. Adriatic and Western Sicily)
  • Greece: Saronikos Gulf

A & C

Introduced for mariculture in the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea.

Since their shells gape, softshell clams can be gritty. To purge the stomach of sand and debris, soak clams in salted water (use 1/3 cup of salt per gallon of water) along with a cup of cornmeal.

It is a common ingredient of soups and chowders.

URL

URL

URL

  • Softshell is actually a misnomer for this clam as it's oval-shaped shell is actually quite thin and very brittle. Softshell clams average 1 1/2 to 3 inches in length. Their shell cannot close completely because of a protruding siphon. For this reason, softshell clams have a shorter shelf life than their closed, hardshell cousins.
  • Safety Factors: Like many bivalves, softshell clams are sensitive to bacterial pollution and outbreaks of "red tide." To safeguard public health, the harvest areas are closely monitored and closed when necessary.
 
             
   
 

 

 

MYTILIDAE
Sea Mussels
served: fresh, fried, breaded, baked, pickled

Sophie's Recipe for Moules marinières (Sailor's mussels)
Alternate recipe for Moules marinières
 
  • Choromitylus
    chorus
URL
Chile
C
     
 
 
  • Lithophaga
    lithophaga
URL
URL
URL
Italy, Spain, Montinegro Coast
C
Fishing and merchandising of Liophapagas is prohibited in Croatia, because of the ecosystem devastation
Croatian cuisine

URL

URL

 
 
  • Modiolus adriaticus (Lamarck, 1819)

Adriatic horse mussel

URL
URL
URL
Black Sea, Mediterranean
     
URL
 
 
  • Modiolus modiolus
URL
URL
URL

Norway
C
     
 
 
  • Mytilus californianus (Conrad, 1837)

California mussel, Blue mussel

URL
URL
URL
Alaska to central Mexico
C
  URL
URL
URL
URL
  • Red Tide Warning California Mussels are edible only in the colder months (those with the letter "R" in their names), because in summer they ingest large numbers of marine organisms whose poisonous excretions in the mussels' gills can cause illness in humans
 
  • Mytilus chilensis
URL
URL
URL
Chile
C
 
Croatian cuisine
 
 
 
  • Mytilus edulis
    (Linnaeus, 1758)

common blue mussel

 

 

 

URL
URL
URL

Canada, China,
France, Italy,
Korea, Spain ,
UK, United States

A & C

Recipe by Sophie
 

URL
URL
URL
URL
URL

  • While they grow wild, mussels are also farmed in Europe and on both coasts of North America. Maine is the largest U.S. producer, but farmed mussels from Canada's Prince Edward Island are gaining a reputation in the U.S. market.
  • At one time held in low esteem, the blue mussel has become an aquaculture and culinary success story.
  • Cultivated mussels are harvested at a shell size of 2 to 3 inches. They cost more than wild but are usually worth the extra price. To distinguish from wild mussels, check the shell. Farmed have thin, dark shells; wild have thicker, silvery shells.
  • Blue mussels have a distinctive rich, sweet taste, like a blend of oysters and clams. Mussels should look and smell fresh and have tightly closed shells. Mussel meats, which range from white to orange, are plump and tender, but less soft than clams. Color doesn't indicate quality. Females tend to be orange when ripe (they're fine to eat and, unlike oysters, don't taste oily when about to spawn).
  • Preparation & Cooking Methods: Mussels have beards, or byssus threads, which they use to anchor themselves to a growing medium. The beard should be removed just prior to cooking. Mussels are best steamed in water, wine or cream broth seasoned with herbs and garlic. Try cold, lightly marinated mussel meats served in a sauce of mayonnaise, mustard and garlic, or use cooked mussel meats in pasta salads or as an appetizer. Mussels are also great in seafood soups or stews, like cioppino or bouillabaisse.
  • Safety Aspects: If a mussel's shell gapes, try to pinch it shut. If the mussel is alive, it will respond by shutting its shell tightly. If it doesn't, discard the mussel, along with any that have broken shells.
    Bags or containers of mussels should display the license number of the shipper, as required by the National Shellfish Sanitation Program. Buy only from certified growers who harvest in certified areas.
 
  • Mytilus edulis planulatus
URL
Australia
A (Netherlands, France and Spain, Canada)
 
URL

URL

 
 
  • Mytilus
    galloprovincialis
    (Lamarck, 1819 )

Mediterranean Mussel,
or Bay mussel

URL
Mediterranean, USA, Canada

A (Italy, Netherlands, France and Spain, Canada )

& C

 
Croatian cuisine

URL

URL

URL

URL

URL

 
 
  • Mytilus trossulus

Penn Cove Mussels

URL
URL
URL
USA, Canada
A & C
   

URL

URL

 
 
  • Perna canaliculus
New Zealand green mussel, greenshell, greenlipped mussel
URL
URL
URL
New Zealand
A (New Zealand)
   
URL
  • The green mussel is native to New Zealand, which has exported it to the United States since 1979. Greenshells are farmed mussels
  • They are sweet, tender, delicate, plump and juicy. Meat color varies from apricot (female) to cream (male). The color has no effect on flavor.
  • The mussels grow to over 8 inches, though market size is usually 3 1/2 to 4 inches.
  • Preparation & Cooking: frozen halfshells are already partially cooked. You can add a topping of your choice before "final-touch" broiling or baking. Cooking from frozen at high heat gives the best results. Live green mussels require only a little steam or heat to open 1/4 inch. After that, add a vinaigrette dressing and enjoy. Also excellent heated in Italian sauces and served with pasta. Meats are good whole or chopped in casseroles, chowders and salads, or minced in terrines, patés and quiches.
  • Safety Aspects: Look for the grower's name on the mussels – a dependable sign of safety and high quality.
    Frozen, whole or halfshell mussels may be stored for 24 months. Once thawed, they should be consumed in two to three days.
 
  • Perna perna (Linnaeus, 1758)

Brown mussel, edible brown mussel

 

URL
URL
URL
 
C: Africa and in South America
     
  • Other scientific names appearing in the literature of this species: Mya perna, Mytilus pictus (Born 1780), Mytilus africanus (Chemnitz 1785), Mytilus afer, (Gmelin 1791), Mytilus elongatus (Lamarck 1817), Mytilus perna, Chloromya perna, Mytilus venezolanus (Andreu 1965), Perna picta(Born), and Perna indicata Kuriakose and Nair.
  • Distribution: In its natural range of the brown mussel is widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of the Atlantic (Siddall, 1990). In Africa, P. perna is distributed from Mozambique to the southwestern Cape, rare along the Cape west coast, and reappears in the northern Nambia-Diddo Valley, False Bay (Schurink and Griffiths, 1991). Along the Atlantic coastlines of South America from Uruguay to Caribbean areas (Acuna, 1974). The mussel is also commonly found in rocky-shored coastal regions of eastern Venezuela (Mandelli and Acuna, 1975).
    Its non-native range includes much of the Texas coast. The brown mussel is thought to have been introduced by ballast water releases from ships of Venezuela (Hicks and Tunnel, 1995). Perna perna was first reported in the Gulf of Mexico in 1990 on the Port Aransas Jetty, Texas (Hicks and Tunnell, 1993). In 1991, Hicks and Tunnell (1993) found the mussels to have dispersed 230km southward to Port Mansfield Pass, Texas. Davenport (1993) found brown mussel colonies farther south to Brazos Santiago channel in July and August of 1993. In 1995, Davenport (1995) reported the first sighting of the brown mussels in a bay environment, Port O'Connor, Texas. Within four years, P. perna colonized a distance of 1,300 km from Matagora peninsula, Texas to south Veracruz, Mexico (Hicks and Tunnell, 1995). Holland (1997)reported a 300 km gap in the distribution of Perna perna from Tecolutla to Playa Escondida, Mexico. P. perna also has been found colonizing offshore oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico up to 9m below the surface (Hicks and Tunnell, 1995). The mussel was probably dispersed southward by long range and inshore currents.
  • Interest to Fisheries: The edible brown mussel has been harvested in Africa and in South America. This bivalve is a good candidate for cultivation mainly because they have a rapid growth rate, reaching a commercial size of 60-80mm in 6-7 months (Chung and Acuna, 1981). The eggs and larvae of the mussel are relatively resistant and well adapted to the conditions of the tropical and subtropical regions. Also, mussels of warm waters tend to grow larger than cold water species (Schurink and Griffiths, 1993).

 
  • Perna picta
    (Born, 1780)

African mussel

URL
URL
URL
Rare and not exploited in Tunisia and Sicily
     
URL
 
 
  • Perna viridis

Green mussel, Japan Igai, Es. Mejillon

URL
URL
URL
Philippines, Australia,
China: Yellow and Eastern sea
C
     
 
 
  • Xenostrobus pulex
    (Lamarck, 1819)

Little Black Horse Mussel

URL
New South Wales, southern Australia to Yanchep, just north of Perth, Western Australia. Also occurs in New Zealand.        
 

 

 

NASSARIDAE
Nassa Mud Snails
 
 
  • Hinia reticulata
    (Linne, 1758) &
    Hinia reticulara mamillata

    Netted dog whelks
    or nasas

URL
Mediterranean, British and Irish shores.
   
Croatian cuisine
URL
URL
 
 
  • Nassarius mutabilis
    (Linnaeus, 1758)
    Mutable Nassa
URL
URL
Spain, Italy, Mediterranean; Black Sea; West Africa; Canaries.
C: Middle Adriatic Sea, during the months from October to June is object of seasonal fishing from numerous small scale fishing agents     URL
 

 

NATICIDAE
Moon Snails
  • Species List: Common Names by Hardy's Internet Guide to Marine Gastropods
  • A report on the "Occurance of Tetrodotoxin in the Causative Gastropod Polinices didyma and another Gastropod Natica lineata Collected from Western Taiwan"
 
  • Euspira heros (Say, 1822)

Northern Atlantic Moonsnail; Common Northern Moon

URL
URL
URL
Gulf of St Lawrence Eastern Canada to North Carolina, U.S.A.
       
  • Fisheries & Oceans Canada: 1998 Eastern Nova Scotia Whelk/Moon SnailIntegrated Fishery Management Plan;Scotia Fundy Fisheries, Maritime Region
  • Permitted as a bycatch in Atlantic Canada commercial trap fisheries for the waved whelk, Buccinum undatum.
  • The are greedy predators any they eat mostly bivalves but will even eat other moon snails
 
  • Euspira lewisii (Gould,1847)

Pacific Lewis's moon snail

Formerly: Polinices lewisii

 

 

 

URL
URL
SE Alaska to Baja
California
       
  • This is the largest moon snail in the world. Its common and scientific names honor Meriwether Lewis, who with William Clark explored the route to the Pacific in 1804-1806, and who brought back specimens of this shell from the mouth of the Columbia River.
  • It has been harvested and marketed commercially on occasion, as a result of predator removal from oyster and clam aquaculture tenures.
  • Lewis's moonsnails are harvested by recreational harvesters and there are bag limits in CA,WA,ORE,(USA) and B.C. (Canada)
  • To prepare for consumption, it is important to discard the intestinal and other organs.
  • Shorekeeper's Animals: molluscs in the Strait of Georgia.
  • Living REEF Project's Invertebrate Monitoring Program, a companion to REEF Fish Survey Project in the Pacific Northwest.
 
  • Lunatia fusca
    (Blainville,
    1825)

URL
Spain, Italy
       
 
 
  • Naticarius
    cruentatus
 
Spain, Italy
       
 
 
  • Naticarius
    punctatus
 
Spain
       
 
 

 

 

NERITIDAE
Nerites
 
 
 
URL
URL
URL
         
 
             

 

 

NERITIDAE THEODOXINAE
Freshwater or Brackish water nerites
 
 
  • Neritina granosa
    (Sowerby, G.B. I,
    1825)

Hawaii: (hihiwai) Grained
Neritina

URL
URL

 

Hawaii

 

     

URL

 

 

 

 


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