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Sixth and seventh-grade students were enjoying the great outdoors at Winters Run when they found a pearl in a freshwater clam unfamiliar to the area, according to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
The agency said that “Corbicula is a non-native clam, but it has the capacity to produce pearls. This is very rare, so these kids got lucky!”
Corbicula fluminea, also known as "Asian Clams" is an invasive species that is uncommon in the state, according to the Maryland State Archives.
“Asian Clams have an outer shell that is yellow-green with white spots, while the inner shell is purple,” officials said. "There are concentric rings on the outside. They grow up to 1.75 inches in length.
“They eat algae which they filter from the water. Asian Clams live on the muddy or sandy bottoms of freshwater lakes and streams.”
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