giant clams

Huge reef mollusks

Giant clams are the largest living bivalve mollusks, found in warm shallow waters of the Indo-Pacific.

Some species grow over four feet across and live for decades.

Despite old sailors' tales, they pose no real danger to divers—they close too slowly to trap anyone.

Their colorful mantles contain symbiotic algae that provide most of their nutrition.

anatomy

mantle

Covering or wrap

shell · nacre · foot · hinge · valve · muscle · tissue · calcium carbonate · filter feeder · symbiosis

habitat

reef

Underwater rock or coral formation

lagoon · Pacific · Indo-Pacific · shallow · tidal · seabed · marine · aquatic · sanctuary · Palau

appearance

iridescent

Showing shifting spectral colors

brilliant · vivid · dazzling · multicolored · patterned · luminous · radiant · variegated · pigmentation · wavy

culinary

sashimi

Thinly sliced raw fish

  • seafoodMarine creatures as cuisine
  • delicacyRefined sensitivity or rarity
  • exoticStrikingly unusual, foreign-seeming

gourmet · luxury · harvested · overfished · chowder · ceviche · raw · adductor · umami · succulent

size

enormous

Extremely large in scale

immense · hefty · weighty · heavy · record-breaking · oversized

diving

scuba

Portable underwater breathing gear

photography · ecotourism · observation · encounter · diving · freediving · marine sanctuary

Categories
Opposites
mobility/lifestyle

giant clamsscallops

Edible hinged-shell mollusks

razor clams · geoducks

ecological strategy

giant clamscone snails

Predatory sea snails with venom

octopuses · nudibranchs · sea slugs · cephalopods

habitat and distribution

giant clamsfreshwater mussels

Bivalves inhabiting rivers and lakes

Family

giant, gigantic, clam, clammy, clams, giants, clammed, clamming, clambake

Familiarity
Top 200,000
Profile
Known to kids · Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Everyday, not technical · Rated G