The average lifespan of a giant clam in the wild is over 100 years.
Giant clams are filter-feeding animals which circulate water in and out of their bodies using special gills.
Like corals, they have symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae) living inside them that give them energy and form beautiful coloured patterns on their surface. The clams’ effective circulatory system enables them to keep a substantially high number of symbionts per unit of volume. As a result, they develop into the largest living bivalve mollusc, which can weigh more than 200kg and grow up to 1,20m across.
Reproduction occurs sexually, these molluscs are hermaphrodites (producing both eggs and sperm). Self-fertilization is not possible, but this characteristic does allow them to reproduce with any other member of the species.
Giant clams have been heavily harvested throughout the Indo-Pacific for their meat and shells and are now listed as vulnerable.