Barnea truncata (Atlantic Mud Piddock) belongs to the bivalve family Pholadidae, sometimes also known as “angelwings” for their white, wing-shaped shells. In live specimens of Barnea truncata, a long gray siphon extends from a white, oblong shell. The species lives in intertidal zones primarily on the eastern coast of North America and the western coast of Africa. Barnea truncata is a boring clam, using teeth on the anterior end of the shell to burrow several body lengths into clay, rock, or mud substrate. The species is not hermaphroditic as some clams are, but rather has distinct males and females which reproduce sexually. The clams live to be about nine years old and spend all of their adult lives in a single burrow.