Paphies ventricosa, or toheroa (a Māori word meaning "long tongue"),[1] is a large bivalve mollusc of the family Mesodesmatidae, endemic to New Zealand.

The best grounds are wide fine-sand beaches where there are extensive sand-dunes, enclosing freshwater, which percolates to the sea, there promoting the growth of diatoms and plankton.

[2] The toheroa is a very large shellfish with a solid white, elongated shell with the apex at the middle.

[5] The soup became an international delicacy after the Royal Tour of Prince Edward in 1920, becoming popular in restaurants in New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Australia.

However, numbers have not recovered since 1979, due to illegal poaching, poorly policed customary harvesting, vehicle driving on beaches, pollution, reduction in fresh water coming onto beaches, and gas bubble disease.