It is probably due to its long sandy beach that the Montagnais named this North Shore village “Neshtât Kâmiluâs” (beautiful sandy spit).
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Razor clams
The 8-shaped holes we see on the beach mean a very specific razorblade-shaped mollusc is present.
The razor clam buries itself vertically in the fine sand and mud. The 8-shaped hole it leaves on the surface enables it to filter the water to feed primarily on phytoplankton, or microalgae.
Surprisingly, this species moves very quickly and can disappear in a matter of minutes!
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Marine worms
Earthworms have aquatic cousins called polychaetes, or marine worms! Their bodies are also segmented but they have many pairs of feet or parapodia.
While some move about freely, others spend their life buried in the sand. These sedentary worms filter the water. They are easy to find because, in tunnelling into the ground, they leave sand spaghetti on the surface!