What Type Of Animal Is A Clam

Updated September thirty, 2021

Past Adrianne Jerrett

Reviewed by: Sylvie Tremblay, M.Sc. Molecular Biological science and Genetics

Clams are a type of ​invertebrate​, or an brute without a courage. Clams are also function of the Mollusca phylum, the 2d largest group of animals in the earth. In this phylum, clams are classified as ​bivalve shellfish​, meaning their trunk is enclosed in two hard outer shells that hinge at the base.

Different Types of Clams

At that place are more than xv,000 clam species worldwide. Clams in the body of water are saltwater clams. Clams that live in ponds and lakes are freshwater clams. Most clams spend their developed lives burrowed safely into sand or mud. Withal, some clam species bore through wood and rock.

What Do Clams Eat?

Clams are filter feeders. They have fine hair-like structures across their gills chosen ​cilia​. These cilia move to suck in water through a long tubular construction called a ​siphon​ that reaches the surface of the mud. Their gills trap suspended particles in the h2o and so move them to the mouth. These suspended particles include tiny organisms which the clams eat. The make clean water is then ejected through an outgoing siphon.

Because of clams' natural filter-feeding abilities, they are excellent natural h2o purifiers. They create clearer water, which in turn helps increase light exposure for photosynthetic organisms like seagrasses. Plus, they remove toxic algae later natural flower events. A small clam measuring between one and two inches tin filter up to 4.5 gallons of water a day.

Clam Life Bicycle

Clams are ​circulate spawners​, meaning they release their sperm and eggs into the h2o en masse for fertilization. Clams then undergo a series of gratis-swimming larval stages. As they abound, their shells become heavier until, somewhen, young clams settle onto the muddy or rocky bottom. The juvenile clam then uses its muscular human foot to motion around and discover a suitable place to settle. Adult clams use a sticky hair-similar structure called a ​byssus​ to stick to the bottom of a h2o body; then, they burrow into the mud or sand with their pes.

The Geoduck

The geoduck, or deepwater male monarch clam (​Panopea zelandica​), is the world'southward largest burrowing clam. Geoducks have a very long siphon which allows them to bury themselves upward to a meter deep in the sand forth the coasts of New Zealand. Adult geoduck shells but mensurate around eight inches, but their siphon and torso can exist over iii.three feet long. Geoducks are known to live to exist over 165 years old. Geoducks are considered a delicacy, and a repast of New Zealand geoduck can price around $400 in China and Hong Kong.

The Giant Clam

The biggest mollusk in the world is appropriately named the giant mollusk (​Tridacna gigas​). It is constitute among coral reefs in the tropical Indian and Pacific oceans. The largest giant clam ever found measured over four and a half feet long and weighed around 550 pounds. Ninety per centum of this behemothic's clam's weight was its shell.

Giant clams also have symbiotic algae living within their cells. The algae photosynthesize, providing the giant clam with any excess energy they produce. In commutation, the algae receive a safe place to live and the nutrients they need to survive. The photosynthetic algae are really what produce giant clams' vivid colors.

Shipworms

Wearisome clams from the families Teredinidae and Pholadidae get the name "shipworms" from the damage they cause to ship hulls and pilings. Wood-boring clams use their razor-abrupt sides to twist through the wood, cut chunks away as they motility. These clams eat the woods as they burrow with symbiotic bacteria, helping them assimilate it.

Rock-deadening clams begin burrowing when they are young, but they don't swallow the rock – they utilize it to hide. Every bit they grow, they go wedged inside the rock and cannot get out, which offers them protection from predators. Like well-nigh mollusk species, these clams filter feed using siphons.

Source: https://sciencing.com/fun-clam-10048870.html

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