Clam Dissection

Roy Plotnick
,
University of Illinois at Chicago
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Summary

Dissecting a living clam to see how soft parts and life mode can be reconstructed from the preserved shells.

Note: clams are purchased at a local market.

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Context

Audience

Introductory paleontology course, selective for major.

Skills and concepts that students must have mastered

None.

How the activity is situated in the course

First lab in the course.

Goals

Content/concepts goals for this activity

How paleontologists can reconstruct unpreserved aspects of organisms from their preserved parts.

Higher order thinking skills goals for this activity

Predicting morphology and life mode.

Other skills goals for this activity

Description of the activity/assignment

Students observe clams (Mercenaria) in a salt water aquarium, paying attention to siphons and any burrowing. They then remove the clams and describe the external morphology. The clams are then dissected, with special attention made to features (siphons, muscles) that leave observable marks on the shells. They are then provided the shells of a different genus (Mya) and asked to predict the soft tissue morphology and life mode.

Determining whether students have met the goals

How well they make the prediction.

More information about assessment tools and techniques.

Teaching materials and tips

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