Hawaii Biological Survey’s

    GOOD GUYS & BAD GUYS    

[Good Guys & Bad Guys Home | About This Site | Card List | HBS Home | Bishop Museum Home ]

  BAD GUY   
59. Asian Freshwater Clam

Scientific name: Corbicula fluminea

Hawaiian Name: —

Classification: Phylum: Mollusca. Class: Gastropoda. Family: Corbiculidae

Origin:Purposefully introduced as a food item; first seen in 1977.

Status: Common.

Distribution: All main islands except Lana‘i, Moloka‘i, and Kaho‘olawe.

Map: —


This clam was first seen in 1977 at a farmer's market in Kailua, O‘ahu. By the mid-1980s it was well established in many of Hawaii's streams and reservoirs. Baby clams can pass through water intake screens and clog irrigation lines as they grow older.

   Photo by Ronald Englund ©HBS