Freshwater Golden Clam - Corbicula Fluminea

Origin:

Originated in China, Korea, south-eastern Russia, and the Ussuri Basin. Now widespread in Europe and the United States.

Habitat:

Freshwater lakes and streams of all sizes with mud, silt, sand and gravel benthic substrate (The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers). 

Size:

Typically this bivalve grows up to 25 mm in length but larger forms are know which can grow up to 50 to 65 mm.

Impacts:

• Asian clam reaches high densities and colonises suitable substrates.
• It has similar impacts to the zebra mussel, competing with other species for food and space.
• Water based industries, such as hydroelectric power stations and water abstraction for household use may be faced with higher costs due to the clogging of intake pipes by this species.
• In the US one estimate from 1980 put the costs of correcting this problem at an estimated 1 billion dollars annually (ISSG).
• They can also negatively impact on sand/gravel abstraction.