St. George Island, FL Dec. 20, 2009 The hinge that holds the shells together when the animal is alive is quite strong in these shells, therefore it is possible to find them still attached on the beach after the animal has died. I separated these two so I could get a better photo. The small hole in the shell on the right is an indication that a predatory snail killed and ate the clam.
There were many of these purple Clam shells on the beach at low tide on the beach in Washington in the morning. My guess is they were probably eaten during the night by skates.
The two light brown siphons are just barely visible sticking out of the sand. Sometimes it is possible to see water squirting from the valves.
