T.gigas, Michaelmas Cay Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia
Conservation status
Vulnerable (IUCN 2.3)[1]
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Mollusca
Class:
Bivalvia
Order:
Cardiida
Family:
Cardiidae
Genus:
Tridacna
Species:
T. gigas
Binomial name
Tridacna gigas
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms[3]
Chama gigantea Perry, 1811
Mantle of giant clam with light-sensitive spots which detect danger and cause the clam to close
Tridacna gigas, the giant clam, is the most well-known species of the giant clam genus Tridacna. Giant clams are the largest living bivalve mollusks. Several other species of "giant clams" in the genus Tridacna, are often misidentified as Tridacna gigas.
Known to indigenous peoples in the area for thousands of years, Antonio Pigafetta also documented these in his journal as early as 1521. One of a number of large clam species native to the shallow coral reefs of the South Pacific and Indian oceans, they can weigh more than 200 kilograms (440 lb), measure as much as 120 cm (47 in) across and have an average lifespan in the wild of over 100 years.[4] They are also found off the shores of the Philippines and in the South China Sea in the coral reefs of Malaysia.[5]
The giant clam lives in flat coral sand or broken coral and can be found at depths of as much as 20 m (66 ft).[6]: 10 Its range covers the Indo-Pacific, but populations are diminishing quickly, and the giant clam has become extinct in many areas where it was once common.[5] The maxima clam has the largest geographical distribution among giant clam species; it can be found off high- or low-elevation islands, in lagoons or fringing reefs.[7] Its rapid growth rate is likely due to its ability to cultivate algae in its body tissue.[6]: 10
Although larval clams are planktonic, they become sessile in adulthood.[8] The creature's mantle tissues act as a habitat for the symbiotic single-celled dinoflagellate algae (zooxanthellae) from which the adult clams get most of their nutrition. By day, the clam opens its shell and extends its mantle tissue so that the algae receive the sunlight they need to photosynthesise.
^Wells, S. (1996). Tridacna gigas. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T22137A9362283.en
^"Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Archived from the original on 3 February 2007. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
^Bouchet, P.; Huber, M. (2013). "Tridacna gigas (Linnaeus, 1758)". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
^"Giant Clam: Tridacna gigas". National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
^ abSyukri bin Othman, Ahmad; Goh, Gideon H. S.; Todd, Peter A. (28 February 2010). "THE DISTRIBUTION AND STATUS OF GIANT CLAMS (FAMILY TRIDACNIDAE) – A SHORT REVIEW". The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. 58 (1): 103–111.
^ abKnop, Daniel (1996). Giant clams: a comprehensive guide to the identification and care of Tridacnid clams. Ettlingen: Dähne Verlag. ISBN 978-3-921684-23-8. OCLC 35717617.
^Cite error: The named reference Munro was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
Tridacna gigas, the giantclam, is the most well-known species of the giantclam genus Tridacna. Giantclams are the largest living bivalve mollusks. Several...
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The maxima clam (Tridacna maxima), also known as the small giantclam, is a species of bivalve mollusc found throughout the Indo-Pacific region. They are...
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and Alcala retrieved young giantclams from the Solomon Islands to breed back in Bolinao. After their work, the giantclam population has increased significantly...
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giantclam. Because it did not grow in a pearl oyster it is not pearly; instead the surface is glossy like porcelain. Other pearls from giantclams are...
free the anchor and then found a giantclam. The fishermen thought of cooking the clam and then discovered the giant pearl. The pearl was hidden for 10...
considered a gemstone pearl, but is instead known as a "clam pearl" or "Tridacna pearl" from a giantclam. It measures 24 centimeters in diameter (9.45 inches)...
hawk-owl and Camiguin forest mouse. GiantClam Sanctuary — Established by a non-government organization called Kabila GiantClam Conservation and Ocean Nursery...
4 lb). Bivalves (Bivalvia) The largest of the bivalve mollusks is the giantclam, Tridacna gigas. Although even larger sizes have been reported for this...
a genus of large tropical saltwater clams, marine bivalve molluscs in the subfamily Tridacninae, the giantclam subfamily, of the family Cardiidae. Hippopus...
tube found on the strandline, they can be seen by X-ray photography. The giantclam (Tridacna gigas) is generally considered to be the largest bivalve mollusc...
Tridacninae, common name the giantclams, is a taxonomic subfamily of very large saltwater clams, marine bivalve molluscs in the family Cardiidae, the...
ciliates, and many marine organisms including corals, fire corals, giantclams, and jellyfish. Photosymbiosis is important in the development, maintenance...
mean that growth rates are very slow. The giant mussel, Bathymodiolus thermophilus, and the giant white clam, Calyptogena magnifica, both live clustered...
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a traditional form of giantclam ranching was practiced on village reefs or on lagoon [sic] where a community place giantclams in a fenced off area for...
Mediterranean shell is anything like this large, although various tropical giantclam species may reach half this width or more, with a rather different shape...
000 species of mollusc have been recorded on the reef, including the giantclam and various nudibranchs and cone snails. Forty-nine species of pipefish...
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