Geoduck populations primarily live near the West Coast of the United States. They can burrow several feet down over the span of their lifetime. This type of clam lives in soft sediment, including muddy or sandy areas, that allow them to burrow themselves in. Geoducks stay in the same place as they go from larvae to juvenile. They typically live burrowed down one or more meters in their habitat. The geoduck is a burrowing clam, so you won’t find these guys floating through the sea but instead on the seabed, burrowing their way in. This is one of the reasons why it can be difficult to recover a damaged geoduck population. However, many of those potential geoducks do not become fertilized. It may seem like there should be thousands and thousands of geoducks due to the large size of each spawning.

The growth process following that is the larvae develop into a creature capable of living on the seabed, then getting the capability to burrow, which is what the geoduck’s primary function is. For geoducks, this means that both female and male release their specimens into the water rather than connecting together for insemination.Īfter this, eggs become fertilized and then start their journey of life as larvae in a matter of several weeks. The reproduction process for geoducks is spawning. However, most geoducks live to be around 140 years or less.įemale geoducks can reproduce multi-millions of eggs at a single time. One record even shows a geoduck that lived to be 168 years old. A geoduck can live for a long period of time. While the geoduck is a slow-growing species, it makes a lot of sense considering their lifespan. The geoduck is a unique-looking species, but its color palette is neutral. Their shells have darker colored rings and have specks of brown covering along the edges of the shell. Geoducks take water in and squirt water out through either of these openings. Their most notable feature is their long siphon which includes the two separate openings at the end (the neck). They can be more light-colored, almost a creamy white, and dark-colored to a very deep dark brown color.

Geoducks do eventually stop growing when they reach around fifteen years of age, and the majority of their growth takes place in the initial years they are alive. A geoduck’s shell is between six to eight inches long, while the rest of its incredible length comes from its siphon and neck. It takes geoducks around fifteen years to grow as large as seven pounds. While the average size is just under two pounds, they can become as large as seven pounds. The other disposes of the unnecessary water it has taken in. One is for taking in necessary life sources, like water, for example. They also have a neck that splits open into two different parts. This is what grows to reach multiple feet in length. The longest part of their body is the siphon. Part of the name originates from a word meaning “genitals.” Its name is probably due to the clam’s genitalia-like appearance. To give you an idea of what it looks like, let’s talk a little bit about where the word “geoduck” comes from. It is one of the biggest clams that falls into the burrowing category. While they do have a shell-like most other clams, their body is extremely large. Geoduck isn’t your standard-looking clam.

Western geo duck