The Great Jaw is a leviathan-class mollusc in Subnautica 2, built along the lines of an enormous bivalve rather than the fish- or cephalopod-shaped leviathans found elsewhere on the planet.[1] Unlike the game's roaming predators, it never gives chase — it sits with its shell open in a fixed location and waits for something to wander in.[2] Internally, the development team nicknamed it "Clamthulu," and it was the creature featured in Subnautica 2's early access reveal trailer.[1] The Great Jaw takes the form of two domed shell halves with a rough, irregular surface, their upper edges forming jagged, tooth-like points that interlock when closed.[1] The exposed flesh inside shifts from blue near the top to purple toward the base, where large numbers of eyes of varying sizes are clustered.[1] A central stalk rises from the middle of the body, topped with a hollow structure ringed by fleshy tendrils.[1] The single confirmed specimen stands roughly 62 meters tall, with the open shell spanning about 72 meters across.[1] Every other leviathan in Subnautica 2 hunts by pursuit. The Great Jaw does the opposite: it stays completely still, shell open, and lets prey come to it — closer to an environmental hazard than a stalking predator.[3] Disturbing the pink or purple tendrils at its core triggers the shell to slam shut, trapping anything caught inside.[2][4] Approaching the creature produces a mild electric discharge, survivable on its own and generally treated as a warning rather than a real threat.[4] The real danger is what happens after a successful trap: once sealed inside, the Great Jaw releases a neurotoxin to subdue whatever it has caught.[1] Like Earth's bivalves, the Great Jaw's body is built from two mineral shell halves joined by powerful adductor muscles, with its digestive organs, heart, and gills all housed inside the shell rather than exposed.[1] A mantle layer — the same tissue that forms a squid's outer skin — secretes the bioplastic matrix that the shell's calcium carbonate structure grows on. Reaching adult size is a slow process, plausibly taking decades or centuries. The mantle's interior is lined with motion-sensitive eyes.[1] Once prey is sealed inside, the creature secretes neurotoxins as its primary means of subduing whatever it has caught.[1] Approach alone is enough to trigger a mild electric shock, likely serving as an early deterrent separate from the shell-trap mechanism itself.[4] This is an original summary written for this article, not a reproduction of any in-game text.[1] The Great Jaw's interior is worth the risk it poses: it holds some of the richest early-game lithium deposits available, along with the blueprint for the Portable Oxygen Generator.[2] A damaged Portable Oxygen Generator can also be scanned from within the creature itself.[1] It's possible to enter and collect this loot without triggering the trap, provided the central tendrils are avoided — patience and careful movement matter far more here than speed.[2] Only a single confirmed Great Jaw currently exists in the game.[1]Great Jaw
Appearance
Behavior & the trap
Anatomy
Bivalve body plan
Mantle & shell growth
Neurotoxin defense
Electric warning discharge
Databank entry
What's inside
Location
Biome Notes Tufa Towers Found roughly 350 meters southwest of the starting Lifepod, next to a wrecked section of the Cicada colony ship informally known as "the Canteen."[2][3] Field notes
References
wiki.subnautica.com/sn2/Great_Jaw
gamewith.net/subnautica-2/76115
gamebrief.net/blog/subnautica-2-great-jaw-leviathan-guide
gamewith.net/subnautica-2/75771
gamerant.com/subnautica-2-clam-leviathan-great-jaw-location-reward-treasure
Great Jaw | Reference wiki
v| Name | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | |
| Genre | Games |
| Version | |
| Update | July 25, 2026 |
The Great Jaw is a leviathan-class mollusc in Subnautica 2, built along the lines of an enormous bivalve rather than the fish- or cephalopod-shaped leviathans found elsewhere on the planet.[1] Unlike the game’s roaming predators, it never gives chase — it sits with its shell open in a fixed location and waits for something to wander in.[2] Internally, the development team nicknamed it “Clamthulu,” and it was the creature featured in Subnautica 2’s early access reveal trailer.[1]
Appearance
The Great Jaw takes the form of two domed shell halves with a rough, irregular surface, their upper edges forming jagged, tooth-like points that interlock when closed.[1] The exposed flesh inside shifts from blue near the top to purple toward the base, where large numbers of eyes of varying sizes are clustered.[1] A central stalk rises from the middle of the body, topped with a hollow structure ringed by fleshy tendrils.[1] The single confirmed specimen stands roughly 62 meters tall, with the open shell spanning about 72 meters across.[1]
Behavior & the trap
Every other leviathan in Subnautica 2 hunts by pursuit. The Great Jaw does the opposite: it stays completely still, shell open, and lets prey come to it — closer to an environmental hazard than a stalking predator.[3] Disturbing the pink or purple tendrils at its core triggers the shell to slam shut, trapping anything caught inside.[2][4]
Approaching the creature produces a mild electric discharge, survivable on its own and generally treated as a warning rather than a real threat.[4] The real danger is what happens after a successful trap: once sealed inside, the Great Jaw releases a neurotoxin to subdue whatever it has caught.[1]
Anatomy
-
1
Bivalve body plan
Like Earth’s bivalves, the Great Jaw’s body is built from two mineral shell halves joined by powerful adductor muscles, with its digestive organs, heart, and gills all housed inside the shell rather than exposed.[1]
-
2
Mantle & shell growth
A mantle layer — the same tissue that forms a squid’s outer skin — secretes the bioplastic matrix that the shell’s calcium carbonate structure grows on. Reaching adult size is a slow process, plausibly taking decades or centuries. The mantle’s interior is lined with motion-sensitive eyes.[1]
-
3
-
4
Neurotoxin defense
Once prey is sealed inside, the creature secretes neurotoxins as its primary means of subduing whatever it has caught.[1]
-
5
Electric warning discharge
Approach alone is enough to trigger a mild electric shock, likely serving as an early deterrent separate from the shell-trap mechanism itself.[4]
Databank entry
This is an original summary written for this article, not a reproduction of any in-game text.[1]
What’s inside
The Great Jaw’s interior is worth the risk it poses: it holds some of the richest early-game lithium deposits available, along with the blueprint for the Portable Oxygen Generator.[2] A damaged Portable Oxygen Generator can also be scanned from within the creature itself.[1]
It’s possible to enter and collect this loot without triggering the trap, provided the central tendrils are avoided — patience and careful movement matter far more here than speed.[2]
Location
| Biome | Notes |
|---|---|
| Tufa Towers | Found roughly 350 meters southwest of the starting Lifepod, next to a wrecked section of the Cicada colony ship informally known as “the Canteen.”[2][3] |
Only a single confirmed Great Jaw currently exists in the game.[1]
Field notes
- Internally referred to by developers as “Clamthulu” during production.[1]
- Featured prominently in Subnautica 2’s early access cinematic reveal trailer.[1][5]
- Unlike the Collector or Shiver leviathans, it poses no chase threat — the entire encounter is avoidable through observation alone.[3]
- No weapons capable of killing it currently exist in the game, by design.[2]
References
- Great Jaw — Subnautica 2 Wiki (official).
wiki.subnautica.com/sn2/Great_Jaw - Subnautica 2 | Great Jaw Leviathan Guide — GameWith.
gamewith.net/subnautica-2/76115 - Subnautica 2 Great Jaw: The Trap You Loot, Not Fight — GameBrief.
gamebrief.net/blog/subnautica-2-great-jaw-leviathan-guide - Subnautica 2 | All Leviathans: Locations & How to Scan — GameWith.
gamewith.net/subnautica-2/75771 - What’s Inside the Great Jaw Location in Subnautica 2? — Game Rant.
gamerant.com/subnautica-2-clam-leviathan-great-jaw-location-reward-treasure