Pacific Razor Clam (Siliqua patula)

Description: These bivalves are named for the razor sharp edges of their shells. Their shells are oblong and brown to yellow-brown, often with radiating rings of darker brown. In Oregon and Washington, razor clams can grow up to 18 cm long and in Alaska, they can reach lengths of up to 30 cm.

Habitat: Pacific razor clams are found on sandy beaches from Pismo Beach, California to Alaska’s Aleutian Islands. Though they mainly live in the intertidal zone, they can be found at depths of up to 55 m. While individuals live buried in the sand, the shells from razor clams are often found washed up in tidepools at Haystack Rock.

Diet: Razor clams feed on microscopic plankton by filtering seawater through their hose-like siphon.

Tide Pool Tidbits:

• This is one of the world’s fastest-moving bivalves! Using its muscular foot, razor clams can burrow in sand at 23 cm per minute.

• The oldest razor clam ever recorded was 18 years old and found in Alaska! Scientists believe even older individuals may exist but on average, razor clams live to be about 11 years old.

• Predators of the Pacific razor clam include starry flounder, Dungeness crab, many species of shorebirds, and humans. Washington clam diggers recently harvested 4 million clams in one season!

References: Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Ocean Conservancy, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife