The geoduck (pronounced /ˈɡuː.iːdʌk/ "gooey duck"), Panopea abrupta, is a species of very large saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Hiatellidae.
The shell of this clam is large, about 15 centimetres (5.9 in) to over 20 centimetres (7.9 in) in length, but the extremely long siphons make the clam itself very much longer than this: the "neck" or siphons alone can be 1 metre (3.3 ft) in length.
The unusual name of the clam is deriv...
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The geoduck (pronounced /ˈɡuː.iːdʌk/ "gooey duck"), Panopea abrupta, is a species of very large saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Hiatellidae.
The shell of this clam is large, about 15 centimetres (5.9 in) to over 20 centimetres (7.9 in) in length, but the extremely long siphons make the clam itself very much longer than this: the "neck" or siphons alone can be 1 metre (3.3 ft) in length.
The unusual name of the clam is derived from a Lushootseed (Nisqually) word gʷídəq meaning "dig deep", and its phonemically counterintuitive spelling is likely the result of poor transcription rather than anything having to do with ducks. Alternate spellings include gweduc, gweduck and goiduck. It is sometimes known as the king clam, or when translated literally from the Chinese characters 象拔蚌, the elephant trunk clam.
Native to the northwest coast of the United States and Canada (primarily Washington and British Columbia), the geoduck is the largest burrowing clam in the world,...
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