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Giant Clam. This enormous shellfish, an inhabitant of tropical seas, is the world's largest bivalve mollusc alive today and the heaviest of all living bivalve molluscs. Specimens grow up to 1.3 m and can weigh up to 300 kg.
- Can a giant clam eat a human?
- Where are giant clams found?
- Do giant clams have predators?
- Do giant clams make pearls?
- What is the largest pearl ever found?
- Do clams feel pain?
- Can you get caught in a giant clam?
- Why do clams have pearls?
- What's inside a giant clam?
- How long does it take a clam to become a giant?
- Are there male and female clams?
- How old is the oldest clam?
Can a giant clam eat a human?
No account of a human death by giant clam has ever been substantiated, and scientists say its adductor muscles, used to close the shell, move far too slowly to take a swimmer by surprise. Even the largest specimen would simply retreat into its shell rather than attempt to sample human prey.
Where are giant clams found?
At home on reefs throughout the Indian Ocean, the South Pacific and parts of South Africa, the giant clam lives on shallow reef flats down to depths of around 66 feet (20 m). Below that, the algae they depend on to survive wouldn't have enough sunlight to grow.
Do giant clams have predators?
It may seem like the sheer size of this clam would keep all threats away. But this mollusk does have some predators. Reef fish, eels, and starfish eat the meat of the clam. Humans also harvest these clams to eat their meat.
Do giant clams make pearls?
Undoubtedly, the Giant Clam (Tridacna Gigas) can grow the largest pearls...the largest pearl in the world is from this mollusk and other large pearls have also been found.
What is the largest pearl ever found?
The Centaur Pearl, also known as the Danat Sheikha Fathima bint Mubarak Pearl, is said to be the largest gem pearl in the world. The magnificent pearl got its current nickname after being set as the torso in a golden sculpture of a centaur which is on display at the Abu Dhabi Hotel.
Do clams feel pain?
Yes. Scientists have proved beyond a doubt that fish, lobsters, crabs, and other sea dwellers feel pain. Lobsters' bodies are covered with chemoreceptors so they are very sensitive to their environments.
Can you get caught in a giant clam?
Yes, just remember that giant clams are attracted to RED. That is why you always make your dive partner wear the red rental wet suit....
Why do clams have pearls?
Mollusks make pearls as a protection against irritants that sneak into their soft tissue. They do so by exuding layer upon layer of shell material. For some animals, this material is nacre, or mother of pearl.
What's inside a giant clam?
What's inside a clam? A retractable foot, a siphon for sucking up water, powerful muscles, and, sometimes, a pearl. ... Like oysters and mussels, clams are bivalves, a kind of mollusk that's encased in a shell made of two valves, or hinging parts. And that shell comes in all different sizes.
How long does it take a clam to become a giant?
Giant clams live on shallow reefs because if they live too deep, there is not enough sunlight for the algae to photosynthesize and create the food that helps giant clams grow so big. Boy or girl? Both! All giant clams mature first as male, which can happen within two years, depending on the species.
Are there male and female clams?
Some species are hermaphrodites (which have both female and male reproductive systems). Male clams produce sperm and release it into the water, while females produce eggs that are retained internally. The sperm get drawn into the female bivalve through her siphons, and fertilization occurs.
How old is the oldest clam?
At 507 years of age Ming the clam broke the Guinness World Record as the oldest animal in the world. Collected off the coast of Iceland in 2006, initial counts of the annual rings of the shell put the age at around 405 years old, which was still a record breaker.
