Clam (Books)

Clams are shelled invertebrates mentioned minimally in the How to Train Your Dragon Book series.

Description
Clams may refer to any mollusk in the Order Bivalva that do not live attached to a substrate (as oysters and mussels do) and have two symmetrical shells hinged together. All clams are filter feeders - pulling out tiny particles and debris from the water around them. Most species are marine, but a few occur in freshwater. Clams can live from anywhere from one year to 500 years, depending on the species.

Historic Vikings may have encountered many clam species, including the Ocean Quahog (Arctica islandica), the Razor Shell (Ensis arcuatus), and soft-shell clams (Mya arenaria). In fact, the latter may have even been seeded in Europe from North America by the Vikings.

Function
In the Book series, clams do not have a specific function, though it might be assumed that they are eaten. In reality, that is their primary use to humans, as an edible shellfish.

The North American Indian Tribe, the Algonquians, used soft-shell clam shells as a type of money.

How to Be a Pirate
Clams are mentioned once by Alvin, the poor-but-honest-farmer while Baggybum the Beerbelly and Stoick the Vast are arguing aboard the Lucky Thirteen.

"Now, now, ... little clams in their shells agree. This should be a JOYFUL moment, ..."

- Alvin