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A species of clam thought to be extinct has been found alive. The only previous evidence of the species was from a fossil collected in 1937.

at the University of California, Santa Barbara, made the unexpected discovery in 2018 while exploring the nearby shores of Naples Point. During his search of the rocky tidal area, Goddard was immediately intrigued by a pair of centimetre-long clams, each waving an equally long white-striped foot.

The clams were unlike others he had seen, so Goddard snapped a few photos and sent them to colleague at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. 鈥淚 was definitely not sure what it was,鈥� says Valentich-Scott, though he could tell it was in the superfamily of small molluscs, Galeommatoidea. 鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to tell much from images. So, I asked [Goddard] to see if he could actually get a specimen.鈥�

But finding the clam again proved difficult. After nine visits to the same area and months of inspection, Goddard found only a single clam and the remnants of another. The pair suspected they had a new species on their hands, but when they combed through earlier scientific literature, they found an apparently identical clam described in 1937 now known as Cymatioa cooki.

Goddard and Valentich-Scott then examined the original fossil kept at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County to confirm they were the same species. 鈥淎t that point, we went, 鈥極h, wow, we got it,鈥欌�� says Valentich-Scott. 鈥淭hat was pretty exciting.鈥�

He says the clam may have evaded detection because its usual home range may be farther south in warmer, less-studied coastal areas. He thinks young larvae may have hitched a ride north on ocean currents during recent marine heatwaves.

The researchers note the species is probably very rare but that more work is needed to determine if C. cooki is endangered and in need of federal protections.