Fresh water pearl clam

[Nautitroller]

I was out shed hunting today and I was crossing a beaver dam when I found a huge clam shell ( no live clam inside) it is almost 9" across! I took it home and did some research, finding out that it is an endangered species that can live up to 250 years! So here's a couple pictures if anyone knows any more or anyone that studies these I'd like to let them see it, also I'd like to get it aged. It's like the size of a small nerf football.

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[lost a lure]

Giant zebra mussel

[lakebound88]

That's cool. I got one a few years ago alive while bullhead fishing. I was winding in and must be my line went across the open mussel. He clamped right closed on the sinker. Didn't people use to wat the fresh water clams out of the flx?

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[lakebound88]

That was supposed to say eat***

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[steelydan]

I have them in my 1 acre pond. Plenty of live ones and a couple each year in the 8 to 10 inch range. Raccoons get some every summer when the water gets low

[Rippin'Line]

In a creek behind my parents house we used to find them all the time as well as Port Bay swimming as kids they would be around the docks. Cant remember if we ever cracked them open or not. most were in the 3-4 inch range. never that big.

[Big Dave]

The Tioughnioga river through Cortland has them. never saw one that big though.

[Sk8man]

I think I remember reading somewhere a long time ago that the local Native Americans used the thicker parts of the mother of pearl in the shells for making things such as lures for fishing and buttons and and various decorations.

[Dick]

Keuka had a lot that we collected for Grandma and she used them in a Alfredo sauce.

[dgio67]

i thought you were not supposed to eat them as they collect toxins since they are a giant filter.  I could be totally wrong on this.  I know Honeoye used to have a ton of them.

[Nautitroller]

From the Wikipedia site there are like 5 different families of fresh water bivalves. I've seen lots of smaller pond and creek clams but this one is really too big for one of those. These clams were able to produce up to twelve pearls at once. I ended up giving it to a local school teacher to have the kids do some research and to study the habitat they live in. If it is that species they have a crazy life cycle. They start out as .6 mm and have to attach themselves to a salmonids gills where they live for a year. They then drop off and have to be dropped in a specific sandy bottom to survive. Check it out on Wikipedia.

Then again maybe it was just a common one on steroids, BTW, I named it Peyton! sorry Manning!

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