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| bivalves text index | photo index |
| Phylum Mollusca > Class Bivalvia |
| Venus
clams Family Veneridae updated May 2020
Where seen? Another seafood favourite, in Singapore, these clams are also called 'la-la'. Venus clams are still commonly seen on some of our shores, in sandy and rocky areas near seagrasses and coral rubble. What are venus clams? Venus clams belong to the Family Veneridae. There are more than 400 known species in this family with some of the most colourful of bivalves. Many are edible. Features: 3-4cm. The two-part shells are thick. Some have ridges or various patterns. They are usually buried just beneath the surface. The fine ridges on their shells to help them stay buried. What eats them? Despite their thick hard shells they are still preyed upon by predators such as moon snails, drills, crabs and shorebirds. Of course humans love to eat them too. What do they eat? Like many other bivalves, venus clams are filter feeders. They lie buried in the sand and extend their siphons to the surface at high tide. They use their siphons to suck in water and filter out microscopic food. The water also brings fresh oxygen to the animal. Clams in this and related families, have a folded gill structure that is well developed for filtering out tiny food particles. The Gladys Archerd Shell Collection website has a drawing of this complex filter. |
Many venus clam species are edible. Venus clams being harvested. Pulau Sekudu, Jul 03 |
 Half buried under a stone. Chek Jawa, Sep 02 |
 Siphon sticking out. Changi, Feb 02 |
| Human uses: Many of the commercially
important clams are venus clams. Some are also used as fish bait.
Venus clams are among the favourite seafood of people everywhere.
Like other filter-feeding clams, however, venus clams may be affected
by red tide and other
harmful algal blooms. Such clams can then be harmful to eat. Status and threats: None of our venus clams are listed among the threatened animals of Singapore. However, like other creatures of the intertidal zone, they are affected by human activities such as reclamation and pollution. Trampling by careless visitors and over-collection can also affect local populations of young clams. |
| Some Venus clams on Singapore shores |
| Unidentified venus clams on Singapore shores |
On wildsingapore
flickr
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| Family
Veneridae recorded for Singapore from Tan Siong Kiat and Henrietta P. M. Woo, 2010 Preliminary Checklist of The Molluscs of Singapore. ^from WORMS +Other additions (Singapore Biodiversity Record, etc)
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| Acknowledgements With grateful thanks to Andre Sartori from eBivalvia on EOL's Life Desk for identifying some of the Venus clams. Links
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The Nature Society (Singapore), Singapore. 343 pp.