Their necks easily stretch from banana to baseball lengths, depending on how comfortably situated they are (they're happiest and longest when they're underground). Several feet below ground, the massive saltwater clam sucks in seawater, filtering for plankton and precious vitamins, and squirts out the excess through its impressive siphon. Native to the Pacific Northwest and Western Canadian coast, g eoducks anchor themselves into the ground with a small 'foot,' and remain in one spot for their entire lives. There are two major parts to remember: the siphon or neck, which hangs out of the shell, and the mantle (also called breast), the meaty part that sits inside the shell. Geoduck is a large clam with simple anatomy. Europeans later reinterpreted the native spelling and pronunciation. The Nisqually - a Native American tribe located in western Washington - coined the term gweduc, meaning 'dig deep' and referring to the way this bivalve burrows far below the seafloor. Here, now, is a primer on this sand burrowing bivalve.įirst off, it's pronounced 'gooey duck.' Contrary to what one might think, it's not related to a duck at all.

has earned a reputation as one of the weirdest looking (it might make you blush) and most delicious mollusks to meet the American plate. Among these strange looking alien creatures, the geoduck of the Northwest Coastal U.S. From microscopic plankton to intimidating, deep sea lantern fish, the creatures that live in the ocean are as varied and unfamiliar as if they lived on another planet.

Whats a geo duck