Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1902-10-02
CLANS THAT BORE IN ROCKS.
An interchangeable Miner of the Mol
lusk World That Anords Ma
turaIists Much Interest.



One of the strangest mollusks known
TO science is the Paddock, or Boring
clam" belonging to the family OF
Pholes. The members of this curious
family bore into the sandstone lodges
skirting the sea, and there take up a
permanent abode, where they can be
found imbedded at varying depths in
the rock.
Belonging to a family that is scat
tered worldwide, Piddocks have re-
ceived considerable attention at the
hands of naturalists from the earliest
times. But inhabiting as the? do only
those portions of the Lodges that are
never laid bare ave at extreme low
tide, their movements are so screened
from mans prying eye that to this day
they remain somewhat of an enigma,
writes James G. McCurdy, III Scien-
tific American.
Many cid ruins along the sea, as well
as the rocky coast itself, bear traces OF
this interchangeable miner of the lower
world. The marble columns of the an
cient temple of Jupiter Scraps, stand
ing upon the shores of the Mediter-
ranean sea, are said to be chiseled
deep by the Piddocks of bygone days.
SLOW do they get into the rock?' is
a question invariably asked by those
who for the first time see the Plddocks
in their peculiar habitations. Author
tiles have been greatly divided upon
The subject. Some have held that the
creatures secreted an acid that ate the
rock, while others have declared that
it was by long-continued action of the
tongue that the burrows were eXca-
waited.
Both of these theories can be safely
discarded, as it is low universally be-
lieyed that the clam bores into the rock
by aid of its sharp shell, which is re-
placed by secretions as fast as it is
worn away. The muscular foot, which
can be thrust forth at will in the work
ing form, being clamped to the rock,
forms a fulcrum about which the sharp
shell can be brought to bear in any
direction. Raspings- on the walls of
the burrow show c0nclusively that the
shell is used in drilling.
Several species of Piddocks are
found on the shores of Puget Sound,
some inhabiting the hard clay banks
bordering on the sea, while others Sc
lect exclusively the sandstone lodges
as places of abode. Those living in
the clay banks are larger and tougher
than the rock dwellers. The latter are
usually about three inches long, and
are as a rule buried about six inches
in the ledge. I have found specimens
over four inches long, imbedded fully
eight inches deep.
They are roughly oblong in shape
the inner end being large and rounded
while the outer end is t1attened and
terminates in a long tongue or siphon
The siphon lies in the small, tubelike
passage which affords the Paddock the
only means of communication with the
outside world, and is usually thrust
out to the surface ready to extract the
animalcules from the sea water, upo1
which the clam feeds. At the first APP
proach of danger, the siphon is with
drawn and the burrow closed to in
truders by means of the long, leathery
combinations of the shell.
The shell of the mollusk is thin ant
brittle. The flesh is very tender ant
palatable, and along the Oregon coast
where the Paddock is plentiful, "Rocl
Oyster Soup" as it is called, is con
sidered a great delicacy.
That the creature does it's boring
while small is evidenced by the bur
row, which is rarely over one-quarte,
of an inch in diameter at the surfac,
of the rock. The passageway Increases
in size at a uniform rate, and contains
no lateral in%dentations. showing tina
the Paddock. had not stopped for an,
length of time at any given spot, Will
continuing its boring operations.
When the desired depth is attained
the clam ceases from it's labors, ex
cepting to enlarge the cavity in whicl
it lies, as it's growth necessitates. Aft
er disseminating its boring, its muscu
lar foot is gradually absorbed an,
the orifice through which it formera,
p%rotruded closes up.