Earliest Holocene occurrence of the soft-shell clam, Mya arenaria, in the Greifswalder Bodden, Southern Baltic

Shells of Mya arenaria from the Greifswalder Bodden, southern Baltic Sea, were dated using aspartic acid racemisation. The soft shell clam occurs in the sediments of the bay to a depth of 20 cm and exceptionally to 36.5 cm. Consistent ages of 682±70 and 687±70 years before 1997 were obtained for three articulated shells recovered in life position. This places the first occurrence of M. arenaria clearly before the time of Columbus. These new data support earlier findings from northern Jutland, Denmark.