Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. By signing up, you confirm you are 16+, will receive newsletters and promotional content and agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time. Not every invasive species is as dramatic or fearsome as a Burmese python or a feral hog—but that doesn’t lessen their impact on native ecosystems. Coastlines across North America and Europe have contended with the spread of the Manila clam (Ruditapes philippinarum) for at least the last century. Although a favorite among seafood lovers, the shellfish is also taking over the habitats of local shellfish, and even hybridizing with similar species. After decades of slow conquest, the delicious mollusk is finally setting up shop along the New England coastline. According to wildlife biologists writing in the journal Biological Invasions, the region marked the Northern Hemisphere’s last holdout against the Manila clam. “Given that Manila clams are everywhere else in the Northern Hemisphere, it …