Clam with 2 mouths

[zhark]

Hi, I am thinking of purchasing a clam from a reputable online seller in my region. I see a fairly nice crocea clam and at a decent size 3.5 inches, however in the photo it seems to have 2 mouths, and I have asked the dealer and she confirmed it has 2 'mouths'. Is the second hole actually a mouth or just a hole caused by a tear or something?

 

 

 

 

[brandon429]

not sure but I believe we could locate it by looking up incurrent vs excurrent siphon structure in bivalves

[Mariaface]

The real 'mouth' has filtering hairs on the sides; that's the lower one. It really looks like a tear.

[TJ_Burton]

Seeing as it lacks the 'frilly bits' around the inhalant siphon, I'd be willing to bet it isn't a part of that structure.

[holy carp]

That's a bit of an insult, IMO, that a dealer would call it a second 'mouth'.  That doesn't necessarily mean the clam cannot survive or heal, but I'm confident it didn't mutate and grow a second siphon.  I don't know if it's injury, disease, or malformation, but calling it a mouth is just lying to a potential customer.