Maxima clam
species of clam
Tridacna maxima, also known as the maxima clam or the small giant clam, is a species of bivalve mollusc found throughout the Indo-Pacific region.
They are much sought after in the aquarium trade, as their often striking coloration mimics that of the true giant clam; however, the maximas maintain a manageable size, with the shells of large specimens typically not exceeding 20 centimetres (7.9 in) in length.
Description
Bivalves have two valves on the mantle. These siphon water through the body to extract oxygen from the water using the gills and to feed on algae. The maxima is less than one-third the size of the true giant clam (Tridacna gigas).
Shell
Adults develop a large shell that adheres to the substrate by its byssus, a tuft of long, tough filaments that protrude from a hole next to the hinge.
Mantle
When open, the bright blue, green or brown mantle is exposed and obscures the edges of the shell which have prominent, distinctive furrows. The attractive colours of the small giant clam are the result of crystalline pigment cells. These are thought to protect the clam from the effects of intense sunlight, or bundle light to enhance the algae's photosynthesis. Maxima produce the color white in their mantle by clustering red, blue and green cells, while individual T. derasa cells are themselves multi-colored.
“Maxima clam” enters the record as species of clam. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Maxima, clam and species can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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“Maxima clam” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Maxima, clam and species provides the most credible route into that argument.
Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jan 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2704793. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Maxima clam” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.