Let's Shell-ebrate!

 Today, we encountered the shells of several types of bivalve mollusks at Cholla Bay. We saw examples of these animals in both the estuary and mixed intertidal environments. These four shells below belong to the bivalves scallop, clam, mussel, and cockle. These animals are filter feeders and attach themselves to hard surfaces or bury themselves in the sand. They are in the phylum Mollusca and the class Bivavlia, which means two-valves. They live within the two shells of calcium carbonate, which they secrete from their mantle. The shells are held together by the adductor muscle, which allows the bivalve to open and close its shell. The oyster shell was especially pretty inside due to the presence of the nacre, which is the "mother of pearl." What amazing creatures!

-Candace Hickey




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