Giant clam
Tridacna gigas
- Usual depth2–6 m
- Water temperature25–30 °C
- Best monthsJanuary and November
- How commonOccasional
About this species
Tridacna gigas, the giant clam, is the best-known species of the giant clam genus Tridacna. Giant clams are the largest living bivalve molluscs. Several other species of "giant clam" in the genus Tridacna are often misidentified as Tridacna gigas.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Giant clam”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
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Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 18 records
- February: 4 records
- March: 3 records
- April: 2 records
- May: 3 records
- June: 2 records
- July: 7 records
- August: 2 records
- September: 2 records
- October: 2 records
- November: 14 records
- December: 7 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 2–6 m · Deepest record: 9 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 25–30 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Giant clam, Killer clam, giant clam, killer clam
Names in 3 more languages
- German
- Große Riesenmuschel, Mördermuschel
- French
- Bénitier Géant
- Japanese
- オオシャコガイ
Other scientific names: Chama gigantea, Chama gigas, Dinodacna cookiana, Tridacna (Tridacna) gigas
Similar species
- Elongate clam
Tridacna maxima
- Boring clam
Tridacna crocea
- Fluted clam
Tridacna squamosa
Heart cockleCorculum cardissa
- Pacific strawberry cockle
Fragum fragum
- Strawberry cockle
Fragum unedo
Sources and credits
Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).
- Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
- Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
- Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
- 384 open-data records from 1817 to 2021.
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