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Scientific classification: Kingdom Animalia, Phylum Mollusca, Class Bivalvia, Order Cardiida, Family Cardiidae, Subfamily Tridacninae, Genus Tridacna
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Size: Grows up to 40 cm (about 16 inches) across.
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Shell characteristics: Features prominent, leaf-like fluted projections called scutes along the primary radial ribs, with a relatively small byssal opening.
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Mantle coloration: Mottled or reticulated patterns in brown, purple, green, yellow, orange, or blue.
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Habitat & Distribution: Found in warm, shallow coral reefs, reef flats, lagoons, and reef slopes across the Indo-Pacific—from South Africa and the Red Sea to the Marshall Islands, Polynesia, and southern Japan.
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Biology & Diet: Sessile adult that relies on photosymbiosis, hosting single-celled photosynthetic algae (zooxanthellae) in its mantle tissue while also filtering phytoplankton and absorbing dissolved nutrients
