“So taking care of your clam beds was actually kind of protecting your vault, your bank,” says Schneider. In the sea gardens of the Pacific Northwest, caretakers crushed the shells of ...

“So taking care of your clam beds was actually kind of protecting your vault, your bank,” says Schneider. In the sea gardens of the Pacific Northwest, caretakers crushed the shells of ...

clams, also known as noble pen shells, are one of the most popular and beloved species in the Mediterranean Sea. An attractive sight on the sea floor, these huge clams can reach 120cm (47in ...

Once buried, a geoduck's shell remains sedentary. While other clams move to avoid predators ... glow in waggling fingers of lavender, and pink sea stars shuffle in pursuit of prey.

Photograph by Adam Dean, National Geographic Poachers in the South China Sea use their boats' propellers to break up the coral that encases giant clam shells. It leaves reefs broken and barren.

Fully intact common clam shells are always abundant. But the real treasures were among the tiny shells and broken bits left by retreating gentle waves that litter the beach with remnants of sea life.

“That’s how they got the nickname, ‘the trees of the sea,’” Reynolds said ... By matching up the shells from clams of different ages, Reynolds and his colleagues were able to create ...