Bivalvia | 
Venerida | 
Chamidae
			
			
			
				Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range				
				
					Ecology				
				
			
			
				Benthic; depth range 0 - 525 m (Ref. 83435).  Tropical			
			
			
				
			
			
			
				Western Atlantic:  North America and Caribbean.  Introduced in Easter Central Pacific.
			
			
			
			
			
				Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
			
			
				Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm Max length : 10.0 cm WD male/unsexed; (Ref. )			
			
			
							
				
				
					
						Brightly colored, heavy shelled bivalve with long, ribbed, leafy projections in radiating rows.  Commonly yellow or orange, although some are pinkish.  Inside is white.  Highly variable in form, lower valve conforms to the shape of the substrate, upper valve usually becomes worn and looses color and sculpture.					
				
				
						
			
			
			
			
				
					Lives fixed to the substrate, with lower valve cemented in place (Ref. 3248).  In Belize, it was found in a submarine cave near Columbus Cay (Ref. 87209).				
			
			
			
			
			
				Life cycle and mating behavior				
					Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae				
			
			
				
					Members of the class Bivalvia are mostly gonochoric, some are protandric hermaphrodites.  Life cycle:  Embryos develop into free-swimming trocophore larvae, succeeded by the bivalve veliger, resembling a miniature clam.				
			
			
			
			
			
				DeFelice, R.C., L.G. Eldredge and J.T. Carlton 2001 Nonindigenous marine invertebrates. p. B-i-B-60. In Eldredge, G.L. and C.M. Smith. A Guidebook of Marine Species in Hawaii. Bishop Museum Technical Report 21. (Ref. 3248)
			
			
			
			
			
			
			
					
						IUCN Red List Status    
						 (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-1)
					
					
					
				
			
			
			
			
				CITES status   (Ref. 108899)
			
			
				
					Not Evaluated				
			
			
			
			
			
			
				
					Not Evaluated				
			
			
			
			
			
				Threat to humans  
			
			
				
									
			
			
			
			
			
			
			
			
				Human uses  
			
			
							
			
			
				 | FishSource | 			
			
			
			
			
			
Tools
			
			
			
			
				
					More information				
				
					 Trophic EcologyFood items (preys)
Diet composition
Food consumption
Predators
  Population dynamicsGrowth
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Abundance
  Life cycleReproductionMaturityFecunditySpawningEggsEgg developmentLarvae   PhysiologyOxygen consumption
  Human RelatedStamps, coins, misc.
  
			 
			
			
			
				Internet sources
			
			
			
			
			
				Estimates based on models
			
			
			
									
						Preferred temperature  					
				 (Ref. 
115969): 14.6 - 26.3, mean 20.7 (based on 160 cells).			
 
			
			
			
			
			
						
							
				
					
						Fishing Vulnerability  					
					
					
						Low vulnerability (10 of 100).					
				
						
						
			
									
						Price category  					
					
					Unknown.