@dantheclamman Klingon design. Will never break. #klingon #startrek #startrektng #tng

Bivalve hinges have to be very resilient, considering the animal's very existence depends on keeping the valves attached and articulated. One team of researchers mechanically opened and closed a freshwater mussel shell 1.5 million times, finding no signs of […] [Original post on scicomm.xyz]

In 1764, John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail that when he was sick with smallpox, he ate 30 oysters to try to get better. I can't find any evidence that oysters have special therapeutic value against smallpox, though they are rich in zinc, which is an essential mineral for the immune system! […]

Georges Bank is a broad elevated area separating the Gulf of Maine from the Atlantic. It has long been a desirable fishing location, and it is ideal habitat for scallops, with its sandy bottom and elevated position in the path of currents delivering phytoplankton […] [Original post on scicomm.xyz]

Olympia oysters (Ostrea lurida) are our native oyster in estuaries on the West coast of North America. They are marvels of evolution, able to survive extreme swings in salinity and turbidity often seen in their native environment. As another adaptation to their […] [Original post on scicomm.xyz]

Ophiocordyceps is iconic for its ability to infect ants and change their nervous system to force them to climb high, where the fungus can fruit and spread spores to infect more ants. Pleurocordyceps is a hyperparasitic fungus that eats Ophiocordyceps. It isn't […] [Original post on scicomm.xyz]

The best discussion of the actual biology of the Reflecting Pool algal bloom I've seen so far, including descriptions and microscope pics from GMU professor Rosalina Stancheva Christova. The green algae Desmodesmus is taking advantage of warm water, fresh […] [Original post on scicomm.xyz]

Unpopular opinion: the reflecting pool is dumb and it's silly to fight algae growing in a shallow warm artificial pool. Lean into the algae growing aspect and make it a giant algal culture raceway. Even more ridiculous idea: make it deeper and put some clams in […] [Original post on scicomm.xyz]

Clams have a lot of lessons for these times. Everything wants to destroy them, and sometimes the clams fight back, but mostly they win by building back harder, working together to engineer the environment they want to live in. They play a long game and they continue to win.

Giant clams produce ~8 kg/cm2 of closure pressure (114 psi), less than a human bite. So you'd feel a big pinch if one closed on you, but not dangerous! They generally don't want you in their shells with them also, so they'll reopen if you keep still, and large clams often can't close completely […]

Contrary to their name, American oystercatchers don't *just* eat oysters. In one study, around 1/3 of their diet was actually sand crabs. But they do eat a lot of bivalves, using their chisel-like, fast-growing bills to smash or pry open oysters, mussels and […] [Original post on scicomm.xyz]

Pulse oximetry has previously been noted to have a bias against people with higher skin melanin content. It over-measures blood oxygen for Black people and others with more melanin, because most oximeters were calibrated for people with light skin. This can lead to someone with a real blood O2 […]

Oysters are often farmed in floating cages or bags. This way they are protected from many predators, and floating near the surface they are always among the the tasty phytoplankton that are their preferred food, rather than having to wait for the plankton to sink to the bottom! #clamfacts

Talons Wet! Life is about to get very unpleasant for one or more fish. Osprey, Huntley Meadows Park, Alexandria, Virginia 28-May-2026. #birds #birdphotography #naturephotography

I don't supplement CO2 in my aquarium, so it is a limiting factor for the plants in there, as it is in many aquatic ecosystems. For a long time, the tapegrass Vallisneria spiralis dominated in the tank. Its cheat code is that it can use bicarbonate (HCO3-) as a […] [Original post on scicomm.xyz]

I got a box. There was an office chair in it but that was secondary to the box part

Larval oysters have an eye which can detect wavelength and intensity of light. They use the ratio of red and blue light to determine the correct depth at which to settle and attach to the bottom, working from the principle that red light doesn't penetrate as far […] [Original post on scicomm.xyz]

What are some houseplants you struggle with? I keep probably 120 species, but I continue to have issues with: - Poinsettia. I have tried keeping them outside and inside, at different light levels. I find inevitably they drop tons of leaves or get a pest (recently Lewis mites), and I then go […]

@dantheclamman I would happily eat the fried ones but they need to rename them to like Wood Oysters or Boat Cracklins

In the Philippines, shipworms (bivalves that eat wood) are called tamilok and are often eaten raw, marinated in citrus in a ceviche-like dish called kinilaw. They also can be deep fried. The taste has been compared to oysters! Since they can be grown with such […] [Original post on scicomm.xyz]

Drexel University and Academy of Natural Sciences may sever ties: concerns rise about the future of their world-renowned collections https://www.inquirer.com/arts/drexel-university-academy-of-natural-sciences-affiliation-20260410.html […]

If a bivalve shell has a big honkin snoot off to one side, it is called 'rostrate'. Such structures are often a sign of a big siphon. In the most extreme cases, such as for Cuspidaria, it can a sign of carnivory, with them using a long vacuum hose-like siphon to […] [Original post on scicomm.xyz]

Darwin was interested in pretty much everything, so of course he wrote about bivalves, such as in 1882 about a freshwater mussel which a colleague had observed stuck on the toe of a duck. He also wrote about a pea clam clamped on the leg of a diving beetle, and other bivalves stuck on frogs or […]

It is pretty hard to get funding to study clams. But like a clam, I am resilient. I am ready and waiting for the right opportunity to float by.

not enough people are asking, what is the water-speed velocity of an unladen scallop?

‪It is surprisingly common to find whole clam shells in everyday neighborhood concrete, since they often use sand or gravel mined from shallow aquatic environments to make the concrete. The legendary malacologist Tim Pearce from Carnegie Museum wrote about […] [Original post on scicomm.xyz]

RE: https://mastodon.online/@ephesossh/116529140671498942 Seconded, motion passed

I am a very specific kind of reply guy. If someone jokes about the appearance of geoducks (Panopea), I must appear and remind them THEY👏LOOKED👏LIKE👏THAT👏FIRST since the Jurassic!! #clamfacts

We need a Ghostbusters rewrite where one stubborn EPA regulator is all that stands in the way of Big Tech-funded ghost resurrection technology destroying the world

Giant clams can survive for hours out of water. They actually produce enough oxygen through the action of their photosynthetic algal symbionts to power their respiration for short periods, even with no water to breathe from. But even they have limits, and last year the famous clam garden of […]

Lasaea rubra are fun intertidal clams. Like some other members of Galeommatoidea, they are very mobile, using a snail-like foot to crawl around. They brood their young in their shell, an adaptation more commonly found in bivalves in extreme environments. They can reproduce with parthenogensis […]

Parthenogensis (clonal reproduction of females) is pretty unusual. Corbicula fluminea is in an even smaller club: it is one of only a few species across the entire tree of life known to use androgenesis! They're hermaphrodite and reproduce asexually, but only the […] [Original post on scicomm.xyz]

Unionid mussels live in freshwater, so they need to attach their larvae to fish to get them upstream. They have many strategies to lure fish in and trick them to take a bite, but Hamiota perovalis, the orangenacre mucket, literally puts out a fishing line by attaching its larvae to a long mucus […]

RE: https://mathstodon.xyz/@prismika/116500889549097420 The rare kind of election where every choice was a good one. I for one welcome our vampire snail overlords (but don't blame me, I voted for horse conch)

Blunt gaper (Mya truncata) clams are an important food source in the Arctic. These clams are prolific from the intertidal to 70 m deep and are a favorite of walruses! Some Inuit communities time their harvest for the year's lowest tide when the greatest number are exposed! #clamfacts […]

RE: https://posts.rat.pictures/@hannah/116485850092839757 This is actually one of the top 3 questions I get asked. It is a delicate scicomm exercise explaining the clams and the bees to a roomful of kindergardeners

Idea: clamocracy

Anyone got a high res version? This is Exhibit 1 from the Comey indictment. If the pic is from North Carolina coast, the 8 looks like mostly Dinocardium robusta, the giant Atlantic cockle. The 6 probably the same but stained by anoxic sediment. The 4+7 look like […] [Original post on scicomm.xyz]

Moon clams are really, really weird. They live with their shell permanently open on their back like a snail, and move around on their foot. Their soft mantle extends over their shell, so they end up looking a lot like cowry snails. They are found in Western Australia, where they're found living […]

RE: https://fosstodon.org/@silicatefondue/116416038479923918 Holy schist, it's full of stars

I don't care about my citation number (which is good, because it's small haha), but I can't deny it's satisfying when someone I've never met before cites me, clearly understood my work, ran with a concept from the paper and discovered something new themselves. Just like I did with studies I […]

Throughout my limited time in science, I've gotten a lot of no's. I used to ask for the notes and rationales when I didn't get a grant, but over time, I realized like their reasons are usually made up to back-rationalize what is actually a gut decision by each member of the evaluation group. I […]

@dantheclamman It was a “squid-game” style competition, however judging proceeded at a snail’s pace; all clammed up about their process until the bitter end, by which time we were too conched out to care.

Folks, Unitas Malacologica is running their 'mollusk of the year' contest and they've got some real bangers in there, check it out and vote! https://www.unitasmalacologica.org/mollusc-of-the-year-2026.html

I love all bivalves. But I have to admit that zebra and quagga mussels are pretty sinister. They are in the same genus, native to the Caspian Sea, and have completely re-engineered the Great Lakes since they invaded in the 80s via ship ballast water. They eat all […] [Original post on scicomm.xyz]

@dantheclamman Now I'm just imaging your calendar: 9am Clams! 10am Clam MRI 12pm lunch 1pm read about clams etc

I really liked Project Hail Mary. If you haven't read the book, I recommend going in without any background about the plot. It's about how science and engineering are universal languages that bridge barriers. Scientists and engineers think in completely different, almost alien ways, but when we […]

Science really could not be designed better as an impostor syndrome generation machine, even if they started from scratch setting up the system for that purpose. It's wild how every step seems designed to make talented people feel like they suck and pushing them to give up on research.

My first meeting of the day is just titled "Clams". It's gonna be a good day