Common cockle

Common cockle
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Bivalvia
Order:	Cardiida
Family:	Cardiidae
Genus:	Cerastoderma
Species:	C. edule
Binomial name
	Cerastoderma edule; (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
	Cardium belgicum De Malzine, 1867; Cardium crenulatum Lamarck, 1819; Cardium edule Linnaeus, 1758 (basionym); Cardium edule burchanae Girscher, 1938; Cardium edule var. batesoni Bucquoy, Dautzenberg & Dollfus, 1892; Cardium edule var. loppensi Mars, 1951; Cardium edule var. major Bucquoy, Dautzenberg & Dollfus, 1892; Cardium mercatorium Coen, 1915; Cardium nunninkae Lucas, 1984; Cardium obtritum Locard, 1886; Cardium quadrarium Reeve, 1845; Cardium vulgare Da Costa, 1778; Cerastoderma edule var. sinicola Lacourt, 1974; Cerastoderma nunninkae Lucas, 1984;

The common cockle (Cerastoderma edule) is a species of edible saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Cardiidae, the cockles. It is found in waters off Europe, from Iceland in the north, south into waters off western Africa as far south as Senegal. The ribbed oval shells can reach 6 centimetres (2.4 in) across and are white, yellowish or brown in colour. The common cockle is harvested commercially and eaten in much of its range.