In Italy, clams are often an ingredient of mixed seafood dishes, or are eaten together with pasta. The more commonly used varieties of clams in Italian cooking are the Vongola (Venerupis decussata), the Cozza (Mytilus galloprovincialis) and the Tellina (Donax trunculus). A variety of mussel called Dattero di mare (Lithophaga lithophaga) was also once widely popular as seafood. However, since overfishing drove it to the verge of extinction (it takes *5 to *5 years to reach adult size and could only be harvested by smashing the calcarean rocks that form its habitat), it has been declared an endangered species by the Italian government since ***8, and its harvest and sale are forbidden. "Clam" is also a popular term of endearment amongst Italian young people.