🦋 Identification Guide

How to Identify Cardiidae

36 species · Animalia · Order Cardiida

Cardiidae is a animal family in the Animalia kingdom, order Cardiida, class Bivalvia. The family contains 36 accepted species worldwide.

Key Identification Features

The yellowish-brown shell of Acanthocardia echinata can reach up to 75 mm in diameter, and features 18 to 22 spiny ridges.
The shell has a sub-rhomboidal shape, and features deep vertical ridges that run across its entire surface.
noae into three distinct groups: one ranging from the eastern Indo-Malay archipelago to Western Australia, one spanning Melanesia to Micronesia, and one located in Central Polynesia.

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Representative Cardiidae Species

Acanthocardia tuberculata (Linnaeus, 1758)

Acanthocardia tuberculata is a spiny-ribbed bivalve mollusk found in the Northea…

Americardia media (Linnaeus, 1758)

Americardia media, the Atlantic strawberry cockle, is a saltwater cockle found a…

Clinocardium nuttallii (Conrad, 1837)

Clinocardium nuttallii, the only species in its genus, is an edible cockle rangi…

Acanthocardia echinata (Linnaeus, 1758)

Acanthocardia echinata, the prickly cockle, is a marine bivalve mollusc found in…

Hippopus hippopus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Hippopus hippopus is a medium-sized tridacnine clam found in shallow Indo-Pacifi…

Cerastoderma edule (Linnaeus, 1758)

Cerastoderma edule, the common cockle, is an edible Atlantic bivalve mollusc imp…

Laevicardium crassum (Gmelin, 1791)

Laevicardium crassum is a bivalve with a distinct smooth, ribbed shell found in …

Laevicardium elatum (G.B.Sowerby I, 1833)

Laevicardium elatum is a bivalve with 120–130 mm shells found in sandy shallow w…

Tridacna maxima (Röding, 1798)

Tridacna maxima, the small giant clam, is a smaller giant bivalve with a wide In…

Tridacna gigas (Linnaeus, 1758)

Tridacna gigas, the giant clam, is the world's largest living bivalve, a sessile…

Cerastoderma glaucum (Bruguière, 1789)

Cerastoderma glaucum, the lagoon cockle, is a euryhaline saltwater bivalve found…

Tridacna noae (Röding, 1798)

Tridacna noae is a medium-sized giant clam found across the Indo-West Pacific on…

Browse all 36 Cardiidae species →

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you identify Cardiidae?

Cardiidae animals belong to the Cardiida order in the Animalia kingdom. The yellowish-brown shell of Acanthocardia echinata can reach up to 75 mm in diameter, and features 18 to 22 spiny ridges. For instant identification, use the iNature app — AI-powered and works offline.

What are the key characteristics of Cardiidae?

Cardiidae is classified in the order Cardiida, class Bivalvia, phylum Mollusca. The shell has a sub-rhomboidal shape, and features deep vertical ridges that run across its entire surface.

Sources: GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia · Disclaimer

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