About Gafrarium pectinatum (Linnaeus, 1758)
Gafrarium pectinatum (Linnaeus, 1758) is also known by the alternate name Gafrarium tumidum. This species belongs to the genus Gafrarium, the family Veneridae, the order Veneroida, and the bivalve class. The individuals of this species are edible clams. The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) considers Gafrarium tumidum to be a synonym of Gafrarium pectinatum, but malacologists from Taiwan distinguish the two species based on their shell patterns. This species is distributed mainly in Japan, and Taiwan, where it is found mainly along the eastern shore of the Taiwan Strait, with scattered populations also along Taiwan's Pacific shore. It is also found in the South China Sea around Hainan Island and Daya Bay, as well as in Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, which includes both the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea. It has also been recorded in the Chagos Archipelago and the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean. After the opening of the Suez Canal, this species was transported from the Indo-Pacific Oceans to the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.
