I looked down to see this distinctive shell washed up at Point Reyes this past weekend (23 August 2025). Note the elongate shape and the fine ridges radiating from the hinge (the hinge is at the bottom of the photo).
I posted briefly about this species back in 2015 (See "File this away" on 28 June 2015), but it's rare to observe Hemphill's File Clam (Limaria hemphilli) in our region, so I thought it would be worth sharing another record. Limaria hemphilli has a more southern distribution, with most records south of Point Conception (and only a few records north of Monterey).
I also remembered that Sam documented a file clam in Bodega Harbor in 2024. He was lucky to find a live individual and he captured the beautiful and intriguing tentacles. Check it out!
Here's an even closer view of those amazing tentacles:
The tentacles are extensible -- they can stretch out far away from the shell. And interestingly, there are reports of predators being distracted by tentacles that have been dropped, so at times the tentacles might be used to deter predation (somewhat similar to a lizard's tail).
With many thanks to Eric for the photo of the shell and to Sam Briggs for the spectacular photo of the live file clam.
3 comments:
Spectacular! I had no idea they ever were found this far north!
Wow~what a gorgeous creature hidden in that shell. Thank you for posting all these fabulous findings as you venture the wilds. I look forward to them.
Stunning photos!
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