These tiny colorful clams are juvenile versions of the clams that will eventually grow up to live in the big shells you might paint or use as a digging tool.
Did you see them wriggle under the sand? They use a muscled foot to dig a burrow and hide from their enemies: crabs, sea stars, and snails. They can feed themselves with the muscle coming out of the other end, called a siphon. The siphon basically just sucks in the “vitamins” of the sea for the clam to grow on.
These tiny clams grow very fast in the summer and fairly slow in the winter. You can tell the age of a clam by counting the rings…The darker rings. The softer rings are the slow growth of winter. Think how your hair grows longer and faster in the summer.
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August 24, 2008 at 2:25 am
is there any use for these tiny clams as they are “infants” – there were a bazillion of these creatures in the ocean today and i think i killed so many of them just trying to get out of the water!
September 12, 2008 at 8:52 pm
Great question – The main purpose for having so many of these tiny clams is that they will be part of the food chain / ecosystem. They may be eaten by other animals or decompose to become part of the sand…if that doesn’t answer your question – watch the abyss.