Mercenaria

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This article is about genus of clams. For other uses, see Mercenaria (disambiguation).

iMercenaria
Hard clams Mercenaria mercenaria
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Mollusca Class: Bivalvia Order: Veneroida Family: Veneridae Genus: Mercenaria Schumacher, 1817
Species
See text.

Mercenaria is a genus of bivalve molluscs in the family Veneridae. It includes the quahogs, Mercenaria mercenaria, the northern quahog or hard clam and M. campechiensis, the southern quahog, which commonly hybridise where their ranges overlap. Other species include the venus clam M. stimpsoni found in north Pacific waters, All these species were formerly placed in the related genus Venus. Several other species are known only from fossils.

[edit] Extant species

• Southern quahog, Mercenaria campechiensis
• Northern quahog or hard clam, Mercenaria mercenaria
• Venus clam, Mercenaria stimpsoni

[edit] Fossil species

• Mercenaria corrugata
• Mercenaria druidi
• Mercenaria permagna
• Mercenaria tridacnoides