Evolution on the Half Shell...

This species was one of the more common found during our Moreton Bay Expedition off of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It ranges throughout the Indo-Pacific tropics. The apricot- to peach-sized bivalve lives on shallow water mudflats, nestled at the surface among other shells and seagrass blades. It does not burrow, and like other heart cockles, relies on a powerful, muscular foot to “leap” itself away from predators. Clearly visible in this close-up photograph are the tube-like apertures (they are not true siphons, lacking the proper musculature for withdrawing the tubes) and the fringe of sensory tentacles capable of sensing changes in the environment. Strawberry Cockles are so-named because of their shape and coloration, plump and pointed, light-colored but with reddish flecks (imitating the seeds on a strawberry).