Posted: Apr 22, 2011 3:51 am
Onyx8 wrote:They open when you cook them in boiling water. Why/how would they open if they die under the sand where they live?
Because clams produce a protein called paramyosin, which enables them to hold their shells closed in contraction, for as long as a month, even after death, until that protein breaks down. A live clam will however open in 'panic' when boiled alive, and tends to eventually open over time after death due to the natural breakdown of the protein.
Any number of pressures of course can easily keep them closed after death long enough to be sealed in other ways (calcification etc.)