This exhibition at the Odum School of Ecology showcases the beauty and diversity of the Georgia Museum of Natural History’s collection of bivalve mollusks.

Mollusca: Bivalvia features highlights of the museum’s collection of more than 15,000 bivalves, a group of mollusks that includes clams, oysters and mussels. Bivalves, named for their hinged two-part shells, or “valves,” are found all over the world in both marine and freshwater environments.

Specimens on view include oyster fossils dating to the Cretaceous period 65 million years ago, as well as the shells of giant clams from the Indo-West Pacific Ocean, scallops from the Caribbean, a mussel from Siberia, oysters from Zaire, angel wing clams from Edisto Island, SC, and freshwater mussels from Georgia’s Flint and Altamaha Rivers. Many of the specimens were gifts from collectors, while others were obtained as part of scientific research.

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