The Musselshell River in Montana was given its name by the Lewis and Clark expedition, who had seen plentiful freshwater mussels (Unionidae) on its banks. The local Hidatsa tribe calls it the Moonshell River #clamfacts
October 29, 2026 at 2:19 PM
The Musselshell River in Montana was given its name by the Lewis and Clark expedition, who had seen plentiful freshwater mussels (Unionidae) on its banks. The local Hidatsa tribe calls it the Moonshell River #clamfacts
The kelp scallop, as its name suggests, attaches to kelp with byssal threads. It can see, and if threatened by a potential predator, can detach itself to swim away, clapping its valves to generate jet propulsion! #clamfacts https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/63144992
October 22, 2026 at 11:04 PM
The kelp scallop, as its name suggests, attaches to kelp with byssal threads. It can see, and if threatened by a potential predator, can detach itself to swim away, clapping its valves to generate jet propulsion! #clamfacts https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/63144992
Some fish species also use rocks to smash open bivalve shells! #clamfacts
https://youtu.be/85fmnY2AAsI?t=54&is=RE9rHuCXaB0vcEWp
https://youtu.be/85fmnY2AAsI?t=54&is=RE9rHuCXaB0vcEWp
October 13, 2026 at 4:39 PM
Some fish species also use rocks to smash open bivalve shells! #clamfacts
https://youtu.be/85fmnY2AAsI?t=54&is=RE9rHuCXaB0vcEWp
https://youtu.be/85fmnY2AAsI?t=54&is=RE9rHuCXaB0vcEWp
@AquaClaire Ooh let's make sure the #clamfacts hashtag also knows about this structural yellow color in clams.
October 3, 2026 at 12:21 AM
@AquaClaire Ooh let's make sure the #clamfacts hashtag also knows about this structural yellow color in clams.
Many bivalves live colonially. But how do the floating plankton larvae know where to settle? Researchers have determined that when baby mussels smell the pheromones of adult mussels, they are up to 85 times more likely to settle down and attach themselves! #clamfacts […]
Original post on scicomm.xyz
scicomm.xyz
October 2, 2026 at 9:32 PM
Many bivalves live colonially. But how do the floating plankton larvae know where to settle? Researchers have determined that when baby mussels smell the pheromones of adult mussels, they are up to 85 times more likely to settle down and attach themselves! #clamfacts […]
Blue and green are rare colors for shells (and rare across life in general). A new study finds blue shells may be due to carotenoid pigments, while green is due to structural coloration! https:// www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-61670-9 #clamfacts
October 2, 2026 at 1:34 PM
Blue and green are rare colors for shells (and rare across life in general). A new study finds blue shells may be due to carotenoid pigments, while green is due to structural coloration! https:// www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-61670-9 #clamfacts
When you hold a shell to your ear, your ear hears the resonation of thousands of environmental noises. But your brain hears the sea. Our ocean is the resonator of our planet. Your brain is right. #clamfacts https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seashell_resonance?wprov=sfla1
Seashell resonance - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
August 17, 2026 at 4:00 PM
When you hold a shell to your ear, your ear hears the resonation of thousands of environmental noises. But your brain hears the sea. Our ocean is the resonator of our planet. Your brain is right. #clamfacts https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seashell_resonance?wprov=sfla1
@dantheclamman made me follow #clamfacts ;)
January 23, 2025 at 7:17 AM
@dantheclamman made me follow #clamfacts ;)
I've been posting #clamfacts here for over 5 years, sometimes from before your server might have connected to mine! You can scroll way way back in the archives (I think, let me know if this doesn't work) at the direct link: https://scicomm.xyz/tags/clamFacts
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scicomm.xyz
June 15, 2026 at 10:56 PM
I've been posting #clamfacts here for over 5 years, sometimes from before your server might have connected to mine! You can scroll way way back in the archives (I think, let me know if this doesn't work) at the direct link: https://scicomm.xyz/tags/clamFacts
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
May 30, 2026 at 12:14 AM
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
@soaproot yes giant clams are interestingly "easiest" (still not a beginner pet) as they can get most of their nutrition from light. But most filter-feeding clam species will need supplemental cultured plankton to be added, which most home aquarists aren't prepared to do! #clamfacts
May 30, 2026 at 12:11 AM
@soaproot yes giant clams are interestingly "easiest" (still not a beginner pet) as they can get most of their nutrition from light. But most filter-feeding clam species will need supplemental cultured plankton to be added, which most home aquarists aren't prepared to do! #clamfacts
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
since the Jurassic!! #clamfacts
May 6, 2026 at 6:47 PM
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
since the Jurassic!! #clamfacts
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 […]
Original post on scicomm.xyz
scicomm.xyz
April 30, 2026 at 2:53 PM
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 […]
I still learn new #clamfacts all the time. TIL of the rosy bitterling! Freshwater mussel larvae are famed for grabbing onto fish to ride upstream attaching to the gills or other surfaces and often stealing resources from the host fish. The rosy bitterling fish […]
[Original post on scicomm.xyz]
[Original post on scicomm.xyz]
February 16, 2026 at 3:38 AM
I still learn new #clamfacts all the time. TIL of the rosy bitterling! Freshwater mussel larvae are famed for grabbing onto fish to ride upstream attaching to the gills or other surfaces and often stealing resources from the host fish. The rosy bitterling fish […]
[Original post on scicomm.xyz]
[Original post on scicomm.xyz]
Happy Bivalventines 💗
Heart cockles are the flatfish of bivalves, opening on their sides. They partner with symbiotic algae to get part of their nutrition! #clamfacts
Heart cockles are the flatfish of bivalves, opening on their sides. They partner with symbiotic algae to get part of their nutrition! #clamfacts
February 14, 2026 at 9:26 PM
Happy Bivalventines 💗
Heart cockles are the flatfish of bivalves, opening on their sides. They partner with symbiotic algae to get part of their nutrition! #clamfacts
Heart cockles are the flatfish of bivalves, opening on their sides. They partner with symbiotic algae to get part of their nutrition! #clamfacts
[Spot the made up conchological jargon in this list: umbo, tooth, auricle, resilifer, ligament, beak, chondrophore, commissure, lunule, escutcheon, pallial sinus. #clamFacts]
Psych, they're all real, lol. See a glossary here and impress your friends! […]
Psych, they're all real, lol. See a glossary here and impress your friends! […]
Original post on scicomm.xyz
scicomm.xyz
November 6, 2025 at 5:52 PM
[Spot the made up conchological jargon in this list: umbo, tooth, auricle, resilifer, ligament, beak, chondrophore, commissure, lunule, escutcheon, pallial sinus. #clamFacts]
Psych, they're all real, lol. See a glossary here and impress your friends! […]
Psych, they're all real, lol. See a glossary here and impress your friends! […]
Yo dawg we heard you like shells...the Stimpson chimney clam is a shell in a shell. These little bivalves bore into loose shells, building little igloo like chimneys of cemented shelly fragments once they grow past the thickness of their host shell! #clamfacts
August 31, 2025 at 11:27 PM
Yo dawg we heard you like shells...the Stimpson chimney clam is a shell in a shell. These little bivalves bore into loose shells, building little igloo like chimneys of cemented shelly fragments once they grow past the thickness of their host shell! #clamfacts
Bean clams are famous for jumping to "surf" the waves to stay at the tide line on the beach! Researchers found they're sensitive to the sound frequency of waves breaking, and time their jumps to align with the loudest 20% of waves, to give them the gnarliest shred down the beach! #clamfacts
August 22, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Bean clams are famous for jumping to "surf" the waves to stay at the tide line on the beach! Researchers found they're sensitive to the sound frequency of waves breaking, and time their jumps to align with the loudest 20% of waves, to give them the gnarliest shred down the beach! #clamfacts
I once was asked by a kindergartner if clams sleep. I was stumped, and we actually have no idea! We know many bivalves have strong biological clocks, often showing circadian rhythms in activity. But as to whether they sleep? No one knows! #clamfacts
August 12, 2025 at 10:25 PM
I once was asked by a kindergartner if clams sleep. I was stumped, and we actually have no idea! We know many bivalves have strong biological clocks, often showing circadian rhythms in activity. But as to whether they sleep? No one knows! #clamfacts
The word "clam" originated from the Old English "clamm", meaning to bond, fetter, grip or grasp. So essentially, very close to the word "clamp", and describing the ability of the clam to pinch its valves tightly together! #clamfacts
July 31, 2025 at 9:48 PM
The word "clam" originated from the Old English "clamm", meaning to bond, fetter, grip or grasp. So essentially, very close to the word "clamp", and describing the ability of the clam to pinch its valves tightly together! #clamfacts
I love how this shit pans out here.
https://scicomm.xyz/@dantheclamman/114915361487257474
https://scicomm.xyz/@dantheclamman/114915361487257474
Dr. Dan Killam (@dantheclamman@scicomm.xyz)
A shell is both a rock (specifically, a biomineral) and an organ. A clam's shell is made of crystals of calcium carbonate arranged on a scaffold of proteins such as conchiolin. The organic fraction, often called the shell organic matrix, varies from less than 0.001 to over 5% by mass. It is relatively under-studied and I've tried to help correct that with my work! #clamFacts
scicomm.xyz
July 27, 2025 at 7:35 PM
I love how this shit pans out here.
https://scicomm.xyz/@dantheclamman/114915361487257474
https://scicomm.xyz/@dantheclamman/114915361487257474
April 13, 2026 at 2:05 PM