[2] They tend to live buried in the sandy or muddy areas of shallow water in the middle and lower Chesapeake Bay.

[6][8] Their color is white to yellowish compared to the pinkish tint of the Baltic macoma clam.

[3][6][8] These clams have one foot which helps to hold them in place and two siphons, tube-like structures in which water flows.

[1][9] They can lie either vertically or horizontally in their sandy and muddy habitat and are able to shift positions frequently in search of food.

[2][6] Macoma tenta clams’ long siphons resemble worms crawling along the bottom and thus attract many predators such as American eels.

Researchers have seen higher density and more diversity of some benthic bivalve species in natural marsh areas compared to those that have been impacted by residential, commercial or industrial development.