Mollusks 1: Clams

Clam: Aviculopecten Clam: Aviculopecten

Phylum Mollusca, Class Pelecypoda Aviculopecten


Clam Symmetry

The two large shells above are pelecypods (clams). The photo on the left above may be the mold of the shell, where the shell itself has eroded away. As you hunt clams here, look for the assymmetrical shell. A line drawn down the middle of a single valve does not divide it into equal halves as it would a brachiopod shell. Clams were scarcer in the Paleozoic than they are today, but they were common in some localities. Here they are inconspicuous except for those above. Clams and oysters are in the Phylum Mollusca, as are snails, scaphopods, chitons, squids and octopi.


Fossils Cover
Introduction   What are fossils?   Fossil Classification   Sponges
Corals   Intro to Bryozoans   Bryozoans 1   Bryozoans 2
Bryozoans 3   Intro to Brachiopods   Brachiopods 1
Brachiopods 2   Brachiopods 3   Brachiopods 4
Clams   Snails   Crinoids   Echinoids


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