Brief Summary
The small giant clam (Tridacna maxima) is a bivalve found from East Africa to the middle of the Pacific and from Japan to South Australia. This mollusc is easy to observe on shallow reefs because of its symbiosis with some dinoflagellates which exhibits bright colorations and its size which can be up to 20 cm. The small giant clam is one of the eight species of the genus tridacnidae (giant clams) which are the largest molluscs living on Earth. Sometimes, they may be difficult to discriminate from T. gigas (albeit generally smaller).
They developed complex behaviours which are not expected from sessile organisms, including mechanisms to avoid predation and photo-sensitivity. Along their history, they were subjected to human exploitation for different purposes such as consumption of the flesh as a delicacy, or trade of the shells. They are also used in coral reefs aquarium because of their relatively small size and requirements as well as their bright coloration and filtration capacities. In some area of their repartition, they are still submitted to exploitation but they are protected by the IUCN. |