Corbicula is a genus of freshwater and brackish water clams, aquatic bivalve mollusks in the family Cyrenidae, the basket clams.[1] The genus name is the New Latin diminutive of Latin corbis, a basket, referring to the shape and ribs of the shell. In many Asian countries, these clams are used as ingredients for soup. In South Korea, there is popular soup made of these species of clams (usually Corbicula japonica, Corbicula fluminea, Corbicula leana) known as 재첩국 (jaechup-guk).
The genus Corbicula includes 16 species described to date. The best known is Corbicula fluminea, an invasive species in many areas of the world.
Unusually, some members produce via androgenesis, wherein all genes are inherited from the male, one of the very few animals to do so.[2]