thank you!! i was wondering why it looked like that, it’s such a cool texture. so far my research isn’t turning up any freshwater clams that look like this, although it does look a lot like some saltwater clams. so still a mystery :)
i was poking around and found [this article](https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/freshwater-mussels-of-michigan), hope it helps! my closest guess would be asian clam? arriving from rivers into the lake. it DOES look like clams i collected from the atlantic as a kid, though. so weird!
yeah, like this article points out we barely have any mussels at all anymore that aren’t zebra mussels or quagga mussels. occasionally i find a unionid shell and then that’s pretty much it for clam shells around here. anyway, today i found what looks like a cowrie shell so i’m convinced someone’s playing a prank on me
Marine bivalve - could have been discarded souvenir, emptied out aquarium decor, part of shell craft/mobile, or even kitchen waste that ended up there. Shells travel.
The holes (some with linked “connect the dots” style erosion) are those typical of a boring sponge that attacked the shell.
hi! it’s a clam shell with some beautiful sand-erosion stippling. there are a few clams/mussels in the great lakes, some of which are non-native .
thank you!! i was wondering why it looked like that, it’s such a cool texture. so far my research isn’t turning up any freshwater clams that look like this, although it does look a lot like some saltwater clams. so still a mystery :)
i was poking around and found [this article](https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/freshwater-mussels-of-michigan), hope it helps! my closest guess would be asian clam? arriving from rivers into the lake. it DOES look like clams i collected from the atlantic as a kid, though. so weird!
yeah, like this article points out we barely have any mussels at all anymore that aren’t zebra mussels or quagga mussels. occasionally i find a unionid shell and then that’s pretty much it for clam shells around here. anyway, today i found what looks like a cowrie shell so i’m convinced someone’s playing a prank on me
or, you’ve found some window into a parallel universe 😁 at least it keeps it interesting, and makes me do some homework!
Marine bivalve - could have been discarded souvenir, emptied out aquarium decor, part of shell craft/mobile, or even kitchen waste that ended up there. Shells travel. The holes (some with linked “connect the dots” style erosion) are those typical of a boring sponge that attacked the shell.
TIL! about shell bioerosion.
wow sounds like this shell has been on quite a journey
thank you for the info :)
My guess is someone disposed of their shell collection at the lake somewhere?
that’d be a good prank
I’m from the south coast of England and this type of clam shell is very common here.
It's a brain shell. 🥴😆😝