tridacna gigas

3 definitions found

tridacna gigas - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Tridacna \Tri*dac"na\, n. [L., pl., a kind of oysters, fr. Gr. ?
     eaten at three bites, ? tri- + ? to bite.] (Zool.)
     A genus of very large marine bivalve shells found on the
     coral reefs of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. One species
     (Tridacna gigas) often weighs four or five hundred pounds,
     and is sometimes used for baptismal fonts. Called also paw shell
     , and fountain shell.
     [1913 Webster] Tridactyl

  Clam \Clam\ (kl[a^]m), n. [Cf. Clamp, Clam, v. t.,
     Clammy.]
     1. (Zool.) A bivalve mollusk of many kinds, especially those
        that are edible; as, the long clam (Mya arenaria), the
        quahog or round clam (Venus mercenaria), the sea clam or
        hen clam (Spisula solidissima), and other species of the
        United States. The name is said to have been given
        originally to the Tridacna gigas, a huge East Indian
        bivalve.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              You shall scarce find any bay or shallow shore, or
              cove of sand, where you may not take many clampes,
              or lobsters, or both, at your pleasure. --Capt. John
                                                    Smith (1616).
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Clams, or clamps, is a shellfish not much unlike a
              cockle; it lieth under the sand.      --Wood (1634).
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Ship Carp.) Strong pinchers or forceps.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. pl. (Mech.) A kind of vise, usually of wood.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Blood clam. See under Blood.
        [1913 Webster]

tridacna gigas - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  Tridacna gigas
      n 1: a large clam inhabiting reefs in the southern Pacific and
           weighing up to 500 pounds [syn: giant clam, Tridacna gigas
           ]