Ephippodonta lunata – The clam that opened its shells and grew wings
At barely 1 centimeter long, Ephippodonta lunata looks nothing like a typical clam. Most clams survive by snapping their shells tightly shut for protection, but the mysterious moon clam remodeled its shells into half-moon-shaped sensory “wings.” The shells remain permanently open and are covered with tiny sensory papillae that help the animal feel the world around it. It glides slowly across different habitats using its muscular foot, its shells held wide open. The Mysterious Moon Clam lives hidden along the temperate southern coast of Australia. Rather than digging its own burrow, it slips inside sponges or the tunnels of shrimp, sharing these spaces in a quiet partnership. In these sheltered microhabitats, it filters plankton and organic particles carried by passing currents. Strange, elegant, and almost unreal, the Mysterious Moon Clam challenges everything we think a clam should be. Sequencing its genome will illuminate how symbiosis and radical body remodeling evolve in the dark corners of marine biodiversity. Bring the full moon into the spotlight – vote for Ephippodonta lunata!