Tridacna gigas, Giant clam : fisheries, aquaculture
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Tridacna gigas   (Linnaeus, 1758)

Giant clam

Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
This map was computer-generated and has not yet been reviewed.
Tridacna gigas  AquaMaps  Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Tridacna gigas

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | CoL | ITIS | WoRMS

Bivalvia | Cardiida | Cardiidae

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Benthic; depth range 0 - 35 m (Ref. 75831).  Tropical; 23°C - 30°C (Ref. 102835); 38°N - 29°S, 92°E - 178°W

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Indo-Pacific: from Myanmar then east to Wallis and Futuna, north to Japan and south to western Australia. Introduced beyond Wallis and Futuna in the Pacific.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?, range 25 - 35 cm Max length : 137 cm SHL male/unsexed; (Ref. 99323); common length : 80.0 cm SHL male/unsexed; (Ref. 348); max. published weight: 500.0 kg (Ref. 81839)

Short description Morphology

It is white and fan-shaped with deep radiating ribs.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Known to be the largest bivalve mollusks that exist. Exploited for its meat and shell, this species has recently become nearly extinct within an important part of its range, due to over collecting. Trials of aquaculture under progress for the restocking of reefs and local farming (Ref. 348). Facultative planktotroph. It has an established symbiotic relationship with a dinoflagellate algae (zooxanthellae) which allows them to survive. It ingests the algae at an early stage and the latter propagates in the gut (Ref. 100719).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Becomes simultaneous hermaphrodite in its later years. Spawning is seasonal, based on its northern and southern limits of distribution (Ref. 100714).

Main reference References | Coordinator | Collaborators

SAUP Database 2006 SAUP Database. www.seaaroundus.org. (Ref. 356)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-1)

  Critically Endangered (CR) (A2acd); Date assessed: 23 May 2024

CITES status (Ref. 108899)

Appendix II: International trade monitored

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; aquaculture: commercial
FAO - Aquaculture: production; | FishSource | Sea Around Us

Tools

E-book | Field guide

More information

Trophic Ecology
Food items (preys)
Diet composition
Food consumption
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growth
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Abundance
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturity
Fecundity
Spawning
Eggs
Egg development
Larvae
Distribution
Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
Physiology
Oxygen consumption
Human Related
Stamps, coins, misc.
Outreach
Collaborators
Taxonomy
Common names
Synonyms
Morphology
Pictures
References
References

Internet sources

BHL | BOLD Systems | CISTI | DiscoverLife | FAO(; publication : search) | Fishipedia | GenBank (genome, nucleotide) | GloBI | Gomexsi | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | PubMed | Tree of Life | Wikipedia (Go, Search) | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 24.8 - 29.3, mean 28.6 (based on 2805 cells).
Resilience (Ref. 69278): Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.07-0.2).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 71543): High to very high vulnerability (73 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766): Unknown.
Nutrients :  Calcium = 149 [71, 228] mg/100g; Iron = 8.53 [1.95, 15.11] mg/100g; Protein = 9.88 [8.64, 11.12] %; Omega3 = 0.313 [0.202, 0.423] g/100g; Selenium = 61 [50, 72] μg/100g; VitaminA = 0 μg/100g; Zinc = 2.04 [0.56, 3.51] mg/100g (wet weight); based on nutrient studies.

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