---
title: "West Atlantic Surfclam"
description: "Spisula solidissima — Altri animali. The Atlantic surf clam (Spisula solidissima), also called the bar clam, hen clam, skimmer or simply sea clam, is a very large, edible, saltwater clam or marine bivalve mollusk in the family Mactridae."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/it/animal/west-atlantic-surfclam
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# West Atlantic Surfclam

> Spisula solidissima — Altri animali. The Atlantic surf clam (Spisula solidissima), also called the bar clam, hen clam, skimmer or simply sea clam, is a very large, edible, saltwater clam or marine bivalve mollusk in the family Mactridae.

- Scientific name: *Spisula solidissima*
- Category: `other` (Altri animali)
- Habitats: `sea` (Mare e costa)
- iNaturalist observations: 8048
- Wikidata: [Q3017199](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3017199)
- iNaturalist taxon: [231421](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/231421)

## Names

- en: West Atlantic Surfclam
- de: Atlantische Riesentrogmuschel
- fr: Mactre de l'Atlantique

## Countries with the most observations

US (4376), CA (2247)

## Summary

The Atlantic surf clam (Spisula solidissima), also called the bar clam, hen clam, skimmer or simply sea clam, is a very large, edible, saltwater clam or marine bivalve mollusk in the family Mactridae. It is one of the most commonly found species of bivalves in the western Atlantic Ocean. Able to reach sizes between 7.9 and 8.9 inches (20 and 23 cm) in length, Atlantic surf clams are much larger than Spisula solida, which also resides in the eastern Atlantic coastal waters. Atlantic surf clams reproduce in late summer, when the water temperatures peak.
The shell of this species is a well-known object to beach-goers…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_surf_clam

## Photo

![West Atlantic Surfclam](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/west-atlantic-surfclam/medium.jpg)

Photo: Carter Dorscht · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/244741151

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/west-atlantic-surfclam?lang=it` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).