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| NAS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species |
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Common Name: purple mahogany-clam
Synonyms and Other Names: Varnish clam, savoury clam.
Taxonomy: available through 
Identification:
Thin, oval, flat shells. Shiny brown periostracum, worn white at the hinge. Shell interior purple. Long, separate siphons (Harbo 1999).
Size: To 2.8 in (7 cm) long.
Native Range:
Native to Korea and Japan (Lamb 2005).
Nonindigenous Occurrences: Southern British Columbia to Central Oregon (Lamb 2005).
Ecology:
Buried to 8" (20 cm) in sand-gravel in the high- to mid-intertidal sone, often in areas of freshwater seepage (Harbo 1999).
Means of Introduction: Most likely via ship's ballast water (Lamb 2005).
Status: Established.
Impact of Introduction:
Remarks:
Recent introduction (since the 1980s). Has multiplied quickly in the protected water of the Strait of Georgia, Puget Sound and in Barkley Sound, since the mid-1990s (Harbo 1999). It is now being marketed under the name of "savory clam" (Lamb 2005).
This species hosts pea crabs.
References
Harbo, Rick M. 1999. Shells & Shellfish of the Pacific Northwest :270 pp.
Lamb, Andy, and B. Hanby 2005. Marine Life of the Pacific Northwest : a photographic encyclopedia. :398 pp.
Other Resources:
Nuttallia obscurata, the purple varnish clam
Varnish Clams
Author: Nancy Elder
Revision Date: 12/7/2007 Citation for this information:
Nancy Elder. 2009. Nuttallia obscurata. USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database, Gainesville, FL.
<http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.asp?speciesID=2259> Revision Date: 12/7/2007
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