Pholadomya candida Sowerby, 1823
Caribbean piddock-clam
Taxonomy & Nomenclature
Conservation Status
Last record: 1800's (Díaz & Borrero, 1995); before 1842 (Díaz et al., 2009)
Rediscovered in: 1964 or before (fresh shell) (Olsson, 1964); 1981 or before (empty shells) (Gibson-Smith & Gibson-Smith, 1981); mid-August 1990 (fresh specimen) (Díaz & Borrero, 1995); September 1994 (fresh specimen) (Díaz & Borrero, 1995); September/October 1994 (fresh specimen) (Díaz & Borrero, 1995); November 2004 (living specimen; photo taken) (Díaz et al., 2009); c.2007 (recognition; photo examined) (Díaz et al., 2009)
Freshly dead material had been encountered several times (see Díaz & Borrero, 1995) prior to the discovery of a living individual (Díaz et al., 2009).
Distribution & Habitat
Caribbean & South America
Biology & Ecology
Hypodigm
Media
References
Original scientific description:
Sowerby I, G. B. (1821-1834). The genera of recent and fossil shells, for the use of students, in conchology and geology. Published in 42 parts. Vol. 1, pls 1-126 [1821-1825]; vol. 2, pls 127-262 + text (unpaginated) [1825-1834]. London: G. B. Sowerby.
Other references:
Carlton, J. T., Geller, J. B., Reaka-Kudla, M. L. and Norse, E. A. (1999). Historical extinctions in the sea. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 30: 515-538.
del Monte-Luna, Pablo et al. (2023). A review of recent and future marine extinctions. Cambridge Prisms: Extinction 1: e13. https://doi.org/10.1017/ext.2023.11
Díaz, Juan Manuel and Borrero, Francisco J. (1995). On the occurrence of Pholadomya candida Sowerby, 1823 (Bivalvia: Anomalodesmata) on the Caribbean Coast of Colombia. Journal of Molluscan Studies 61(3): 407-408.
Díaz, J. M., Gast, F. and Torres, D. C. (2009). Rediscovery of a Caribbean living fossil: Pholadomya candida GB Sowerby I, 1823 (Bivalvia: Anomalodesmata: Pholadomyoidea). Nautilus 123(1): 19-20.
Gibson-Smith, J. and Gibson-Smith, W. (1981). The status of Pholadomya candida G. B. Sowerby, I, 1823. Veliger 23: 355-356.
Huber, M. (2010). Compendium of bivalves. A full-color guide to 3,300 of the world's marine bivalves. A status on Bivalvia after 250 years of research. Hackenheim: ConchBooks. 901 pp., 1 CD-ROM.
Morton, B. (1980). The anatomy of the 'living fossil' Pholadomya candida Sowerby, 1823 (Mollusca: Bivalvia: Anomalodesmata). Videnskabelige Meddelelser Fra Dansk Naturhistorik Forening I Kjøbenhavn. 142: 7-102.
MolluscaBase eds. (2025). MolluscaBase. Pholadomya candida G. B. Sowerby I, 1823. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=413867 on 2025-06-10
Olsson, A. A. (1964). Neogene mollusks from northwestern Ecuador. Paleont. Res. Inst., Ithaca.
Rosenberg, G. (1992). Encyclopedia of Seashells. Dorset: New York. 224 pp. [p. 167]
Runnegar, B. (1972). Anatomy of Pholadomya candida (Bivalvia) and the origin of the Pholadomyidae. Proceedings of the Malacological Society of London 40: 45-58.
Runnegar, B. (1979). Pholadomya candida Sowerby: the last cadaver unearthed. Veliger 22: 171-172.