More information: Dakota E. McCoy et al, Heart cockle shells transmit sunlight to photosymbiotic algae using bundled fiber optic cables and condensing lenses, Nature Communications (2024).

The Atlantic cockle clam is known for its sturdy, heart-shaped shell, marked by radial ridges and colors ranging from off-white to shades of brown or reddish hues. These bivalves play a crucial ...

Why such abilities evolved in heart cockles remains unclear. It is possible, says Dr McCoy, that their aragonite windows could serve as primitive eyes for viewing the world outside their shells.

A heart cockle shell has been found to let in light through a design that resembles fiber optic cables. This could inspire everything from helping coral survive to designing new camera lenses.

A heart cockle shell has been found to let in light through a design that resembles fiber optic cables. This could inspire everything from helping coral survive to designing new camera lenses.

Unlike clams, the heart cockle doesn't need to open wide to bask in the sun. It has a clever trick up its shell: tiny, transparent windows.

Heart cockles and many other marine animals use a special form of calcium carbonate called aragonite to make their shells. Under a microscope, most of the heart cockle’s shell has a layered structure, ...

While the cockles could give the algae some light by periodically opening their shells, doing so would leave their tender insides vulnerable to predators.

The cockle shells gathered in Neanderthal times were discovered fused into the maw of a sea cave overlooking Spain’s Cartagena Harbor. Several other shells found in the cave from the same era had been ...

The hypersalinity of L’Haridon Bight keeps out predators of humans as well as cockles, making Shell Beach a popular place to go for a swim. Submitted by Atlas Obscura contributor ahulk242.