Corbicula fluminea
Asian clam
(Also: Asiatic clam)

The Asiatic clam is found throughout Asia, North and South America, Europe and parts of Africa. The clam occurs primarily in streams south of 40 degrees latitude in the northern hemisphere.

The Asiatic clam prefers a lake or stream that has a a sandy or gravel substrate. However, they are also located underneath large boulders and in soft silts of deepwater lakes. The clam thrives better in fast flowing waters because the currents supply a constant source of the particulate food that the clam consumes.

A typical settlement of the Asiatic clam occurs with a population density ranging from 100 to 200 clams per square meter. However, populations can grow as large as 3000 clams per square meter. There appears to be no competition for food among individuals within the species, however within high density populations, space competition is often important.

The Asiatic clam is a filter-feeding bivalve. It filters microscopic organisms, such as plankton, from the water.

The clam creates a problem for power plants by blocking the ventalation systems and the water intake valves. Combined costs of outages, reductions in efficiency, capital investment in equipment, labor and chemical control, exceed 1 billion annually.

The Asiatic clam is a major source of food and is harvested by humans throughout the world. The clam, when removed from its shell, also makes good fishbait.

Historically, wild populations of the Asiatic clam were exploited and harvested, to the extent that , locally, the clams once faced endangerment or extinction. Today, the clam thrives throughout the world.