Tridacna crocea is known commonly as the boring giant clam based on its habit of boring into and fully embedding its body within the substrate. It is the smallest giant clam species and is distributed from Australia and Japan in the west to Palau in the east. In the wild, T. crocea will typically be found with only the mantle exposed at the surface of the substrate, exhibiting brilliant shades of blue, green, purple, white, or brown.
| Kingdom | Animalia | Phylum | Mollusca | Class | Bivalvia | Order | Cardiida | Family | Cardiidae | Genus | Tridacna | Species | crocea |
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A grant project in Guam is setting up giant clam aquaculture in two southern villages, Inalåhan and Malesso. Giant clams are a culturally important species in Guam, where they’re also regulated due to overharvesting. Credit: David Burdick
Fifteen of the 83 species included in the Pacific Islands vulnerability assessment. From left to right: Acanthurus achilles, Caranx melampygus, Tripneustes gratilla, Acanthurus triostegus, Scarus rubroviolaceus, Cephalopholis argus, Octopus cyanea, Lutjanus kasmira, Panulirus penicillatus, Triaenodon obesus, Selar crumenophthalmus, Ctenochaetus strigosus, Naso unicornis, Zebrasoma flavescens, Tridacna maxima. Photo credit: Bruce Mundy.