Reef Forum threads
- Newbie looking for advice
- Fab Friday
- Ventura Frag Swap ,Ventura ,CA on Dec 5th -09
- Manhattan Reef Fall Swap December 6th-09
- ailing Acanthastrea
- Awesome Trachyphyllia
- Depth of the sandbed in a 100gal tank?
- 55 gallon sump
- 21 new Ricordea, 16 Zoanthids, and 5 St. Thomas added... Free Astrea Snails...
- Reggie's 30g SPS Tank
Tridacna costata on the left and Tridacna maxima on the right. Photo by M. Naumann.
A new species of Tridacna giant clam has been discovered in the Red Sea. Formerly believed to be a variant of Tridacna maxima, the newly described T. costata is now considered to be under serious threat of extinction. The new Tridacnid was found to make up less than one percent of the giant clam population in the Red Sea and although it was once widespread, overharvesting by humans is thought to be one of the main causes of its decline. T. costata is distinguished from T. maxima by more numerous and distinct rib-like folds of the shell as well as a subdued brownish mantle which exhibits numerous, wart-like protrusions. Although the clam has only been identified from the Red Sea, it is quite possible that this species occurs outside of this range and that it has been mistaken for a brown T. maxima all this time. Keep your eyes peeled at the LFS and let us know if you find one.
Other items you might enjoy:
This thing has 2 Comments
i have found many of the tridacna costata…different sizes..i am not a professional in the field at all…i was fishing in the red sea & found many of them…i just fished a new small one & was looking on information on how to keep it alive in a fish tank…i had no idea it was rare…if you need anymore info or pictures of the tridacna costata i fished before please contact me on my email address.
forgot to post my email address…it is minafouad@gmail.com
One Trackback
[...] not everyday that we get a new giant clam species but this week’s coral shipment to the LFS included a special sumthin for the clam lovers. [...]