What's inside a clam? A retractable foot, a siphon for sucking up water, powerful muscles, and, sometimes, a pearl. And you thought oysters were fancy. Following is the transcript of the video.

The clam that it came from is a northern quahog called Mercenaria mercenaria, and it usually produces porcelain-like pearls ...

Pearls are the result of a mollusc's reaction to irritants ... These translucent animals are known to swim inside clams and oysters to hide from predators. However, for the individual that concealed ...

Pearls are made by marine oysters and freshwater mussels as a natural defence against an irritant such as a parasite entering their shell or damage to their fragile body. The oyster or mussel slowly ...