Shell · Genus
Mercenaria
Quahog / hard clam
Mercenaria mercenaria, the quahog or hard clam, is the thick, heavy venerid of the US Atlantic coast with a purple-stained inner margin that Native Americans worked into wampum. It is a food species and a common Pleistocene fossil in coastal deposits. Shells are free on any northeastern beach; those with deep purple are used for jewellery.
| Habitat | Sand and mud, estuaries and shallow coast, western Atlantic |
|---|---|
| Regions | Eastern North America, Gulf of Mexico |
| Family | Veneridae |
| Authority (WoRMS) | Schumacher, 1817· WoRMS / MolluscaBase |
| Status (WoRMS) | accepted· WoRMS / MolluscaBase |
| Extinct (WoRMS) | no· WoRMS / MolluscaBase |
| Classification (WoRMS) | Animalia › Mollusca › Bivalvia › Venerida › Veneridae· WoRMS / MolluscaBase |
CITES and protection
Not CITES-listed; a major fishery.
Care (Byne's disease)
Thick, stable shells.
Elsewhere
- WoRMS AphiaID: 138642
- Wikidata: Q1408734
- WoRMS / MolluscaBase record
- Wikipedia: Mercenaria
- CITES Appendices
Cite this article
Stratum Strata. "Mercenaria" (Shell family). Stratum Strata pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21. https://stratum.black/strata/shells/mercenaria. Accessed 2026-09-21.
@misc{stratum-mercenaria,
title = {Mercenaria},
author = {{Stratum Strata}},
howpublished = {\url{https://stratum.black/strata/shells/mercenaria}},
year = {2026},
note = {Shell family article, Stratum Strata pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21; sources: stratum, worms, wikidata, commons. Accessed 2026-09-21.}
} Citations carry the pack version and the article's as-of date so they resolve to the same text later. The facts themselves belong to the sources listed below; cite those for the science.