Giant Clam

Animals Unique | Giant Clam | The giant clam is the largest mollusc Immobile in the world, with the occasional individual giant clam reaching nearly 6ft in length. Once the giant clam has settled somewhere the giant clam Remains there for the rest of its life.

 

Giant clams are founded anchored to the coral reefs in the warm, tropical waters of the Indian and South Pacific Oceans, where giant clams Their spend the majority of time feeding on the abundant variety of food That a coral reef has to offer.

Due to the large size of the giant clam, there have been reports of giant clams eating Human Beings. Despite this though, no reports of man-eating giant clams have ever been verified as it is thought the giant clam That would simply hide in its shell rather than attack an approaching human.

 

Giant clams are thought to grow to enormous sizes Such due to the fact That giant clams consume a great deal of sugars and proteins are produced by That That the algae live on the giant clams.

Although giant clams are omnivorous animals and therefore eat a mixture of both plant and animal matter, the Nutrients produced by the algae Provide the main source of food for the giant clam. Giant clams are also known to eat small food particles and are present in animals That the surrounding water.

 

Despite the vast size of the giant clam the, giant clams are preyed upon by a number of marine predators, many of the which are actually much smaller in size than the giant clam Itself. Eels, snails, fish and starfish are all known to snack on small parts of the giant clam.

Giant clams are also preyed upon by Humans, WHO catch the giant clams in order to feed on a particular muscle the which is seen as a culinary delicacy in many countries. The excessive harvesting of giant clams by Humans has led to rapid declines in the world's giant clam population.

 

Giant clams have both male and female reproductive organs but are not thought to self-fertilise. Giant clams release eggs and sperm into the water, where the eggs will be fertilised Generally by the sperm from another giant clam. Giant clams are Able to release more than 500 million eggs at a time.

Once fertilised, the eggs of the giant clam float around in the water for around 12 hours when the larvae hatches out. The giant clam larvae than Begins to Produce a shell and with just a few days, is big enough to find somewhere to settle on the sea floor.

 

Once a giant clam has found somewhere in the reef That it likes, it anchors Itself onto the reef where it Remains for the rest of its life. Giant clams are so Successful Their environment within That it is not uncommon for these giant molluscs to live for more than 100 years!

Giant Clam Facts
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: bivalves
Family: Tridacnidae
Genus: Tridacna
Common Name: Giant Clam
Scientific Name: Tridacna gigas
Found: Indian and Pacific Oceans
Size: 90-120cm (35-47in)
Weight: 100-200kg (220-440lbs)
Number of Species: 100
Average Lifespan: 20-100 years
Conservation Status: Threatened
Colour: Green, Red, Blue, Yellow, Orange, Brown, Pink
Skin Type: Shell
Favourite Food: Algae
Habitat: Saltwater seafloors
Average Litter Size: Millions
Main Prey: Algae, Phytoplantkon, Nutrients In Water
Predators: Eels, snails, Starfish
Special Features: Large shell edged zig-zag