Heart cockle shells transmit sunlight to photosymbiotic algae using bundled fiber optic cables and condensing lenses

Abstract Many animals convergently evolved photosynthetic symbioses. In bivalves, giant clams (Cardiidae: Tridacninae) gape open to irradiate their symbionts, but heart cockles (Cardiidae: Fraginae) stay closed because sunlight passes through transparent windows in their shells. Here, we show that h...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Dakota E. McCoy, Dale H. Burns, Elissa Klopfer, Liam K. Herndon, Babatunde Ogunlade, Jennifer A. Dionne, Sönke Johnsen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2024-11-01
Series:Nature Communications
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-53110-x
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