gaper a name given to various edible bivalves which lack the ability to close their two shells tight together. The result, so far as human beings are concerned, is that they cannot be kept or transported for long distances alive, in the manner of oysters or mussels, but must be consumed, or shucked and preserved, shortly after being caught. Well-known bivalves to which the name gaper could be applied are the razor clam, and the soft-shelled clam; but the latter is something of an exception in that it can survive for some time without water (indeed without oxygen).
