This shows the tissues of a giant clam (Tridacna gigas). Individuals can grow to one metre in length, weigh 200 kilograms and live for 100 years. The striking and beautiful patterns in the mollusc's mantle are formed by multi-coloured colonies of single-celled dinoflagellate symbiotic algae. In exchange for a safe place to live, the algae provide the clam with sugars through photosynthesis. Sadly, giant clams are becoming rare, due to the effects of global warming and pollution - and because their meat is highly prized by humans. The IUCN Red List states that it is vulnerable. Egyptian Red Sea

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Size: 3493px × 2523px
Location: Near Hurghada, Egypt
Photo credit: © Terence Dormer / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No

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