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Saltwater clams are truly delicious aren’t they? Especially in the classic Italian dish of spaghetti alle vongole or a New England clam chowder. However, in this video unearthed by Foodbeast we get to see a whole bed of living saltwater clams, rising out of the sands to feed as the surf retreats.
Feeding Frenzy
These coquina, or donax clams were filmed on Topsail Island, North Carolina by YouTube user paul-E. All is calm until about 15 seconds in, when thousands of the saltwater clams suddenly emerge from the wet sand, buzzing with hungry energy.
“I went down to the beach at 9:30am under an overcast sky as the low tide was coming in,” says Paul in his comments. “I found piles of Coquina clams just above the incoming tide line, lining the beach from one end to the other as far as the eye could see. At first I thought they were dead but then a full wave cycle exposed the Coquina's rabid feeding behavior.”
Synchronised Spectacle
Saltwater clams are filter-feeders and thus have to eat in moving water (floating food particles are trapped in their gills and then moved to their mouths and digested). While plankton is their main food source, they are largely indiscriminate eaters and will dine on whatever is presented, including decaying matter and plants. This amazing synchronised spectacle is captured perfectly in the video below. You’ll rewind it again and again, we guarantee it.
