Pleasing Venus Clam Shell, Leukoma grata
Pleasing Venus Clam Shell, Leukoma grata. Shell collected off the beach of Punta Chivato, Baja California Sur, April 2025. Size: 1.9 cm (0.4 inches) x 2.2 cm (0.9 inches) x 0.6 cm (0.2 inches). Collection, photograph and identification courtesy of Collection, photographs and identification courtesy of Colin Campbell, DVM, Punta Chivato.
Pleasing Venus Clam Shell, Leukoma grata. Shell collected off the beach of Punta Chivato, Baja California Sur, April 2025. Size: 2.2 cm (0.9 inches) x 2.6 cm (1.0 inches) x 1.8 cm (0.7 inches). Collection, photograph and identification courtesy of Collection, photographs and identification courtesy of Colin Campbell, DVM, Punta Chivato.
Pleasing Venus Clam Shell, Leukoma grata. Shell collected off the beach of Punta Chivato, Baja California Sur, April 2025. Size: 2.4 cm (0.9 inches) x 3.0 cm (1.2 inches) x 1.6 cm (0.6 inches). Collection, photograph and identification courtesy of Collection, photographs and identification courtesy of Colin Campbell, DVM, Punta Chivato.
Pleasing Venus Clam Shell, Leukoma grata. Shell collected off the beach of Punta Chivato, Baja California Sur, April 2025. Size: 2.7 cm (1.1 inches) x 2.6 cm (1.0 inches) x 1.6 cm (0.6 inches). Collection, photograph and identification courtesy of Collection, photographs and identification courtesy of Colin Campbell, DVM, Punta Chivato.
Pleasing Venus Clam Shell, Leukoma grata. Shell collected off the beach of Punta Chivato, Baja California Sur, April 2025. Size: 3.2 cm (1.3 inches) x 4.1 cm (1.6 inches) x 0.9 cm (0.4 inches). Collection, photograph and identification courtesy of Collection, photographs and identification courtesy of Colin Campbell, DVM, Punta Chivato.
Pleasing Venus Clam Shell, Leukoma grata. Shell collected off the beach of Bahía Concepción, Baja California Sur, October 2019. Size: 4.1 cm (1.6 inches) x 2.8 cm (1.1 inches). Collection, photograph and identification courtesy of Bob Hillis, Ivins, Utah.
Phylogeny: The Pleasing Venus Clam Shell, Leukoma grata (Say, 1831), is a bivalve mollusk that is a member of the Veneridae Family of Venus Clam Shells. The genus Leukoma is one of one hundred seven genera in this family, and there are twenty-three species in this genus. They are also known as the Grate Clam Shell, the Grid Clam Shell, the Lesser Littleneck Shell, and the Multi-colored Clam Shell and in Mexico as Taca Menor.
Description: The Pleasing Venus Clam Shell is oval to circular in profile, thick in substance, and somewhat inflated. The beak is fairly pronounced, and has small cardinal teeth. The exterior of the shell is sculpted with radial lines and finer concentric lines. These lines give rise to the common name for this clam of “grate” or “grid.” This clam is highly variable in coloration and even two valves from the same shell may differ. The exterior color is gray to cream, with a variety of brown or black lines, specks, blotches, or chevrons possible. The interior is white to purple, sometimes with orange or brown blotches. Pleasing Venus Clam Shells reach 5.3 cm (2.1 inches) in length and 5.0 cm (2.0 inches) in height.
Habitat and Distribution: Pleasing Venus Clams are found within mud and muddy sand substrates and are found in the intertidal zone and to depths of 390 m (1,280 feet). They are a subtropical to tropical Eastern Pacific species that are found in all Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean with the exception that they are absent from north of Magdalena Bay, Baja California Sur, along the central and northwest coasts of the Baja Peninsula.
Ecology and Behavior: Pleasing Venus Clams are suspension feeders that feed primarily on planktonic algae and suspended organic matter. They are gonochoric and reproduce sexually, through broadcast spawning, with external fertilization. Pleasing Venus Clam Shells are known to host the invasive myzozoa (metazoan organisms related to the cnidarians) Perkinsus marinus. This endoparasite is native to the Atlantic Ocean. Their engagement in any type of commensal, parasitic, or symbiotic relationship has not been formally documented. From a conservation perspective they have not been formally evaluated. However, they are fairly common with a relatively wide distribution and should be consider to be of Least Concern. Pleasing Venus Clams are edible and have been an important food source for native peoples. They are fished by artisanal, commercial and recreational fishermen.
Synonyms: Protothaca grata, Venus discors, Venus fuscolineata, Venus grata, and Venus tricolor.