‘Extinct’ clam resurfaces off the rocky shores of California

Fossils of the clam were previously identified among almost a million mollusc specimens in 1937 in Los Angeles.

Scientists in Southern California have recently found a living specimen of a minuscule clam that was previously only found in fossil form on the shores of Santa Barbara.

The fossils of the clam were previously identified by George Willet among almost a million mollusc specimens in 1937, when the ground was being dug up to lay a sewer pipeline in Baldwin Hills, Los AngelesBelonging to the Pleistocene epoch, the fossils were estimated to be between 36,000 and 28,000 years old. 

The clam is called Cymatioa cooki and is translucent with cryptic habits, according to the researchers.

In November 2018, Jeff Goddard, a research associate at UC Santa Barbara’s Marine Science Institute, found the tiny clam alive and well in the tidal pools of Naples Point, Santa Barbara, while engaged in a search for nudibranch sea slugs.

“Their shells were only 10 millimetres long. But when they extended and started waving about a bright white-striped foot longer than their shell, I realised I had never seen this species before,” he said in a press release. 

The find surprised Mr Goddard as he initially mistook the clam to be of a new, undiscovered species. As the rocky shores of Santa Barbara are teeming with various forms of marine life, the spot is a favourite among scientists and marine biology enthusiasts. In fact, Mr Goddard has studied the intertidal habitats of Santa Barbara for many years, including Naples Point, where the clam was found. 

“It’s not all that common to find alive a species first known from the fossil record, especially in a region as well-studied as Southern California,” he said.