This article was co-authored by Marshall Stephens and by How.com.vn staff writer, Dan Hickey. Marshall Stephens is an Aquarium Expert at Private Oceans Aquariums in West Palm Beach, Florida. Marshall has over 20 years of experience in the aquarium industry and focuses on captive-bred animals. They specialize in tropical and marine aquariums and are a contributor to the Loggerhead Marine life center in Jupiter Florida.
There are 8 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.
This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources.
This article has been viewed 23,167 times.
When you picture a clam, you probably don’t think of an active sea creature that’s capable of interacting with a potential mate. How in the world do clams reproduce, then? Nature is full of innovative creatures that find surprising ways to keep their species alive, and the clam is no exception. In this article, we’ll walk you through the life cycle of a clam from fertilization to adulthood and show you how they grow those iconic shells. Let’s dive in!
Things You Should Know
- Mature clams release sperm and egg cells into the open water for fertilization (broadcast spawning). Some hermaphroditic clams can fertilize their own eggs.
- Fertilized eggs grow into veliger larvae (mollusk larvae with swimming flaps) within 48 hours and float in open water until they settle on the seafloor.
- Juvenile clams bury themselves under the seafloor to grow into adults. Only about 1% of clams that survive to the juvenile stage will make it to full adulthood.
- Clams grow their shells from the inside out by releasing proteins and calcium carbonate from their mantle tissue (the outer tissue that connects with the shell).
Steps
Expert Q&A
Tips
- Many states and municipalities that host clam colonies only allow people to harvest clams that have reached a suitable adult size (usually around 2 inches (5.1 cm) long).Thanks
References
- ↑ https://www.chesapeakebay.net/discover/field-guide/entry/hard-clam
- ↑ https://csi-maine.org/2018/08/30/the-clam-lifecycle/
- ↑ https://barnegatshellfish.org/clam_lifecycle_01.htm
- ↑ https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Corbicula_fluminea/
- ↑ https://barnegatshellfish.org/clam_lifecycle_01.htm
- ↑ https://csi-maine.org/2018/08/30/the-clam-lifecycle/
- ↑ https://csi-maine.org/2018/08/30/the-clam-lifecycle/
- ↑ https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/fingernail-clams
- ↑ https://barnegatshellfish.org/clam_lifecycle_01.htm
About This Article
Did this article help you?
⚠️ Disclaimer:
Content from Wiki How English language website. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License; additional terms may apply.
Wiki How does not encourage the violation of any laws, and cannot be responsible for any violations of such laws, should you link to this domain, or use, reproduce, or republish the information contained herein.
- - A few of these subjects are frequently censored by educational, governmental, corporate, parental and other filtering schemes.
- - Some articles may contain names, images, artworks or descriptions of events that some cultures restrict access to
- - Please note: Wiki How does not give you opinion about the law, or advice about medical. If you need specific advice (for example, medical, legal, financial or risk management), please seek a professional who is licensed or knowledgeable in that area.
- - Readers should not judge the importance of topics based on their coverage on Wiki How, nor think a topic is important just because it is the subject of a Wiki article.