One of the 6 clams on WAnimals
Bivalves · Cardiida · Cardiidae
Tridacna gigas
At extremely high risk of imminent extinction in the wild.
It is the largest living bivalve mollusc in the world. Contrary to the popular myth that it can trap a diver, it closes far too slowly to be any real danger.
Weight
up to 340 kg
Size
up to 1.4 m
Life expectancy
100 years
Diet
Omnivore
Combines animal and plant food depending on availability.
Activity
Irregular activity
Active at irregular times, by day or night depending on circumstances.
Social structure
Solitary
Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.
Sighting difficulty
Very hard
AI-generated images: illustrations, not photographs.
Sources consulted: A-Z Animals; JungleDragon; SeaLifeBase; NOAA Fisheries; Animalia.bio; Red Sea Creatures; Animal Diversity Web; Wikipedia (Giant clam)
Best time: All year round on shallow Indo-Pacific reefs, by day, when it opens its mantle to expose its symbiotic algae to the sun.
Parks and dive sites where this species has been documented — showing 20 of 271.
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Giant Clam — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
The giant clam is classified as critically endangered. Organisations such as the IUCN, WWF and the Wildlife Conservation Society work specifically on its conservation and that of its habitat; looking into their programmes is a good starting point if you want to get involved.
It's documented in 13 protected areas — one reason why protecting these places matters for its conservation.
Based on what we already know about giant clam.
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The pins mark the parks and dive sites where its presence is documented.
