At the bottom of the sea, tiny clams munch on sunken wood, boring holes that they turn into homes. Now researchers have added a new species and several genera to the family tree of wood-boring clams, researchers report April 2 in Journal of Molluscan Studies.
The clams may appear appropriate for mature audiences only, but they’re fascinating for more than their bizarre looks. They eat wood and are some of the only known creatures, including termites and shipworms, to do so. To work their way into wood, the creatures scrape their shells against its surface, shaving it into sawdust that they digest with the help of microbes. As they burrow headfirst into the wood, they breathe with the help of a siphon, a protruding tube-like organ, with which they suck in ocean water to obtain oxygen.
Despite their small size—some possess shells more minute than a pea—the clams may play ...
