Salt Lake Times | 1890-04-07 | Page 7 | Bivalves that Weigh 300 Pounds

Bivalvei That Weigh 300 Foundi. The giant elamp is the largest bivalve known. In northern Australia this is considered an edible species and is regularly regu-larly sought after by the natives,- Mr. Denton, of the United States fish commission, com-mission, has seen clamps containing forty to fifty pounds of meat, and it is a matter of record that individuals weighing weigh-ing 802 pounds have been observed. The giant clamp lies almost concealed in the reefs, just showing the beautiful blue and green of its mantle above the coral. The crushing power of this shell is startling. start-ling. Mr. Denton thrust a stick as big as a man's leg between the valves of one of them and it was broken short off. A man's foot would bo crushed as easily as a pipe stem. The natives have a wholesome whole-some dread of stepping unawares into one of these formidable traps. They kill the animal by stabbing it with a long sword and then remove the meat without with-out disturbing tho shell, thus saving themselves a vast amount of labor and trouble. Forest and Stream.