‘Slender’ sea creature — with ‘razor’-like edge — found in mud. It’s a new species

In the South China Sea, scientists hauled in their trawling net from the muddy seafloor. Sorting through the catch, they found a “slender” sea creature with a “razor”-like edge.

It turned out to be a new species.

Researchers were trawling the South China Sea in May 2021 when they found the “slender” clam, according to an April 9 study published in the peer-reviewed journal Zoosystematics and Evolution.

The unfamiliar-looking clam intrigued the researchers so they searched museum archives for any similar specimens, the study said. They found several matching clams but no matching species records.

Taking a closer look at the sea animals, researchers realized they’d discovered a new species: Cultellus exilis, or the slender razor clam.

Slender razor clams are “medium”-sized, measuring about 3 inches by 0.8 inches, the study said. Their two oval-shaped shells are described as “particularly slender, fragile and translucent,” sometimes “covered with various-sized bubbles.”

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A photo shows the creamy outside shell of a slender razor clam. Inside, the soft part of the clam’s body appears slightly yellow.

Researchers said they named the new species after the Latin word “exilis,” meaning “slender,” because of the shape of its shell.

The new species is part of a group of bivalves referred to as both “razor clams” and “jackknife clams” because of “their narrow-elongated shells and sharp edges,” the study said. These mollusks are “highly valued for their delectable taste and nutrition richness.”

So far, slender razor clams have only been found on the muddy seafloor of the South China Sea at a depth of about 180 feet, the study said. The South China Sea is a contested body of water in southeastern Asia that borders Brunei, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.

The new species was identified by its shell, texture, shape, coloring and other subtle physical features, the study said. DNA analysis found that the new species had at least 12% genetic divergence from other razor clams.

The research team included Yanan Yu, Yingyi Jiao and Junlong Zhang.

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