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Hippopus hippopus

Strawberry Clam

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General Information

COMMON NAMES: Strawberry Clam, Bear's-paw Clam, Horse's-hoof Clam

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Nicobar Islands - Tonga; n. to s.Japan; s. to New Caledonia

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Recent, Naturalised?; S.Group (AK only); Marine, near-shore, lagoon and near-shore, on sand, to 6m

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: ????

KEY FEATURES: Heavy shell to 25cm long. Mantle remains within the shell, is dull green-brown to grey with a few pale gold stripes. The thick and heavy shells have reddish blotches. The byssus gland is small and lost with age, the opening has interlocking teeth. The inhalant siphon does not have any tentacles. Lies on the sand rather than burrowing.

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present Makatea: -
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
-	-	P	-	-	-	-	-	-

Northern Group: -
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
-	-	-	-	-	-

Key to Symbols

blank	no data
-	absent	L	localised
X	extinct 'naturally'	W	widespread
XQi	quarantine intercepted	R	recent
XQe	eradicated	?	query preceding category
P	present	T?	taxonomic query
S	seasonal	nn	present, said to have no name
O	occasional	?1	present, name not investigated
++++	very common	?2	presence not verified, no name recorded
+++	common	N/A	absent, name not expected
++	uncommon
+	rare
Cook Islands islands: RR =Rarotonga, MG = Mangaia, AT =‘Ātiu, MK=Ma‘uke, MT=Miti‘āro, AK=Aitutaki, PL=Palmerston, PN=Penrhyn, MN=Manuae, TK=Takūtea, TN=Tongareva (TS=Tongaleva Spoken, TW=Tongareva Written, they say "el" but write "r"), MH=Manihiki, RK=Rakahanga, PK=Pukapuka, NS=Nassau, SW=Suwarrow. After a Polynesian name: ^=orthography query. Countries and other: FIJ=Fiji, WT=Wallis & Futuna, SAM=Samoa, TON=Tonga, NIU=Niue, CK=Cook Islands, CKM=Cook Islands Māori, FP=French Polynesia, AUS=Australs, SOC=Societies, TAH=Tahiti, TUA=Tuamotus, MQS=Marquesas, MNG=Mangareva, PIT=Pitcain group, EAS=Easter Island, HAW=Hawai‘i, NZ=New Zealand, NZM=New Zealand Māori

Scientific Taxonomy

Hippopus hippopus L.
TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; MOLLUSCA; PELECYPODA (Bivalvia); LAMELLIBRANCHIA; Heterodonta; TRIDACNIDAE

More Information

GENERAL NOTE: 1991 10,000 hippos strawberry clam to Aitutaki from Australia. By 2000 the hippos are a handful only.

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
None Recorded.

References:
None recorded.

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM02, zD02

Web Resources

Citation Information

McCormack, Gerald (2007) Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org.
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