Short answers, pulled from the story.
A clam's shell consists of two valves connected at a hinge joint with a flexible ligament. The ligament provides tension to pull the valves apart while one or two adductor muscles contract to close them tight.
Extant mammals like walrus, harbour seals, sea lions, bearded seals, and river otters consume clams regularly. Birds such as roseate spoonbills, whooping cranes, common cranes, and American flamingos also feed on these bivalves. Most octopus species including Giant Pacific octopuses treat clams as a staple of their diet.
Coastal regions of India use clams to make curries fried with coconut while Japan mixes them into seafood dishes and hot pot recipes. Great Britain exports seventy percent of its cultivated seafood to the European Union and Italy combines vongola with pasta dishes regularly.
Islamic jurisprudence considers clams halal within three Sunni madhhabs but Hanafi rules exclude other aquatic animals from being halal since only fish qualify. Jewish law does not classify clams as kosher for consumption because they lack fins or scales.
Algonquian peoples of Eastern North America used Mercenaria mercenaria shells historically to manufacture wampum as sacred jewelry. Shell money emerged from this same species of bivalve mollusc and served both decorative and economic functions within indigenous societies.
Geoduck Panopea generosa stands as the largest burrowing clam in existence today while Ocean quahog Arctica islandica reached an age exceeding five hundred years. Fossil specimens like Sphenoceramus steenstrupi measure up to 187 centimeters wide and reside in Copenhagen's Geological Museum.