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A pacific razor clam burrows rapidly into the sand

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Watch as a pacific razor clam (Siliqua Patula) rapidly burrows into the sand with its large foot. When it’s almost completely buried, it ejects spouts of water, a reaction that a variety of razor clams are known for.

Pacific razor clams are edible marine bivalve mollusks that filter feed on small plants and plankton along the Pacific coast. Kate Taylor filmed this one in Oregon, and her facebook post has since gone viral.

Related reading at phys.org: Study uncovers secret to speedy burrowing by (Atlantic) razor clams, which explains:

What happens the team writes, is that the clam pushes down into the sand just a few centimeters using a soft foot on its bottom end. Then, it constricts valves inside its shell, causing a sudden vacuum to exist in the sand around the foot. That vacuum is then filled almost instantly with water rushing in from the surrounding saturated sand, making the sand just below the foot more mushy. This allows the clam to push down a little farther, at which point it constricts again. Performing this ritual over and over allows the clam to burrow itself down into the sand at a pretty fair clip.

Next: The differences between a living and a dead sand dollar, the melibe nudibranch grabs at food with a net-like mouth, and an octopus that makes quicksand for a quick escape.

h/t Gross Science.

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