Sand Gaper

• Archaeological shell remains in Denmark dated to the thirteenth century indicate that it reached Europe from America several centuries before Columbus's voyages.
• Its siphon is so long that it does not fit inside the shell, a trait that gives its family its name (Myidae).
• Its history is a transatlantic round trip. It is native to the North Atlantic and North Pacific, died out in Europe during the glaciations and reappeared there in the thirteenth century, probably brought by the Vikings; the modern reintroduction came with nineteenth-century shipping.
• In European estuaries it is one of the few invaders to have reached permanent dominance and held it without fluctuation.
• It lives buried far deeper than most clams, which is why its siphon is disproportionately long.
• It is an important fishery resource in North America, where it is eaten mostly fried or steamed.

Skeleton type

Invertebrate - external calcareous bivalve shell (mollusc)

Habitat and environment

Intertidal sand and mud bottoms of estuaries and bays

Sexual maturity

1-2 years

Sources consulted: Linneo (1758) · Strasser (1999) · Petersen et al. (1992)