Pholadomya candida is a very rare bivalve that is more closely related to fossil species than to most living clams. Shells of the species have been collected in a few localities of the Caribbean Sea.
Pholadomya candida. From off the coast of Venezuela. Illustration: José H. Leal
The species was first reported alive in the 1800s, then only again in the early 2000s when it was found off the coast of Colombia and communicated in The Nautilus by Juan Manuel Díaz and colleagues. We have only one complete specimen in the Museum collection, collected in 1999 off the coast of Venezuela (above).
Living Pholadomya candida. From off the coast of Colombia. Photo: Diana Torres. From The Nautilus 123 (1): 19-20.
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