Ocean quahog
Arctica islandica (Linnaeus, 1767)
Status not recordedmolluscs
The ocean quahog (Arctica islandica) is a mollusc of the class Bivalvia, order Venerida and family Arcticidae. It is also called the Iceland cyprina or Icelandic cyprine, and its scientific name carries the authority (Linnaeus, 1767).
Quick facts about the ocean quahog
Its lifespan is reported at up to 507 years, and the Catalogue of Life lists it as a living, not extinct, species.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 507 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- marinesrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Conservation status
- Not recorded
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the ocean quahog
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the ocean quahog live?
Not recorded
What is the ocean quahog?
The ocean quahog (Arctica islandica) is a species of edible clam, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Arcticidae. This species is native to the North Atlantic Ocean, and it is harvested commercially as a food source. This species is also known by a number of different common names, including Icelandic cyprine, mahogany clam, mahogany quahog, black quahog, and black clam.
The typical A. islandica resembles the quahog, but the shell of the ocean quahog is rounder, the periostracum is usually black, and on the interior of the shell, the pallial line has no indentation, or sinus. Unlike the quahog, which lives intertidally and can be collected by clam digging, this species lives subtidally, and can only be collected by dredging. They grow to sizes exceeding 50 mm or two inches shell height. An individual specimen was reported to have lived 507 years, making it the longest-lived non-clonal metazoan whose age was accurately known.
From the Wikipedia article “Arctica islandica” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Arctica_islandica&oldid=1380513617), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the ocean quahog endangered?
No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.
How is the ocean quahog classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumMollusca
- classBivalvia
- orderVenerida
- familyArcticidae
- genusArctica
- SpeciesArctica islandica (Linnaeus, 1767)
Synonyms Arctica islandica islandica, Arctica vulgaris, Cyprina islandica, Cyprina islandica var. crassior, Cyprina islandica var. inflata, Cyprina vulgaris, Pectunculus crassus, Venus buccardium, Venus ferröensis, Venus icelandica, Venus islandica, Venus pitar
Other names and names in other languages (24)
- Iceland cyprinaEnglish
- Icelandic cyprineEnglish
- arktika islandskáCzech
- molboøstersDanish
- IslandmuschelGerman
- almeja de IslandiaSpanish
- islanninsimpukkaFinnish
- cyprine d'IslandeFrench
- Palourde d'IslandeFrench
- Praire d’IslandeFrench
- vongola oceanicaItalian
- kuskjellNorwegian Bokmål
- noordkrompDutch
- kuskjelNorwegian Nynorsk
- kuskjellNorwegian
- cyprina islandzkaPolish
- Арктика исландскаяRussian
- циприна исландскаяRussian
- gusaskálžuNorthern Sami
- islandska školjkaSlovenian
- bollmusslaSwedish
- islandsmusslaSwedish
- deniz tarağıTurkish
- 北極蛤Chinese
Relatives of the ocean quahog
Other species in the same genus Arctica.
CompareOcean quahog vs Arctica bergensisOcean quahog vs Arctica consobrinaOcean quahog vs Arctica cordataOcean quahog vs Arctica lateralis
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the ocean quahog?
The ocean quahog is a mollusc of the class Bivalvia, placed in the order Venerida and the family Arcticidae.
How long does the ocean quahog live?
The ocean quahog's lifespan is reported at up to 507 years.
What is the scientific name of the ocean quahog?
The scientific name of the ocean quahog is Arctica islandica, in the genus Arctica.
What are other names for the ocean quahog?
The ocean quahog is also called the Iceland cyprina and the Icelandic cyprine.
Is the ocean quahog extinct?
No, the Catalogue of Life lists the ocean quahog as living, not extinct.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Ocean quahog (Arctica islandica). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/ocean-quahog
“Ocean quahog (Arctica islandica).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/ocean-quahog.
@misc{ocean_quahog_2026,
title = {Ocean quahog (Arctica islandica)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/ocean-quahog},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}