Pea clams. Light micrograph of three Pisidium clams (pea clams) in pond water. This aquatic bivalve mollusc is hermaphrodite and vivaparous. It is a v

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Pea clams. Light micrograph of three Pisidium clams (pea clams) in pond water. This aquatic bivalve mollusc is hermaphrodite and vivaparous. It is a very small clam, only a few millimetres across. It feeds using its two siphons to filter food particles from the water, mostly plants such as pondweed. The soft body of the molluscs is seen inside the transparent shells, with the brown area at the hinge being muscles that open or close the shell. The shell is made of deposits of calcium minerals and grows in size over time. The number of rings in the shell indicate the clam's age. Magnification: x1 when printed at 10 centimetres wide.

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Size: 5125px × 3417px
Photo credit: © DR KEITH WHEELER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 3, animal, aquatic, biological, biology, bivalve, calcium, carbonate, clam, cockle, cockles, conchology, cut, cut-, cut-outs, cutout, cutouts, dark-field, darkfield, fauna, freshwater, hinge, illumination, light, lm, malacology, micrograph, microscope, mollusc, muscle, nature, outs, pea, pisidium, pond, shell, shelled, shells, small, trio, underwater, water, wildlife, zoological, zoology