Clams, oysters, mussels, scallops. These animals all belong to the Bivalvia, a group of more that 8000 species of the Phylum Mollusca. Bivalves have a long geological history, with fossils dating back to the Late Cambrian, some 500 million years ago or more. Bivalve molluscs are found in freshwater and marine environments around the world, and include some of the longest lived animals known.

In April 2010, the University Museum of Zoology, Cambridge, was awarded a grant by the Museums Libraries and Archives Council Designation Development Fund to catalogue its collection of Bivalve Molluscs and photograph the type specimens to make this collection of over 10,000 specimens accessible to researchers and the general public. This information is available on request.