{"id":3368,"date":"2013-01-07T08:10:20","date_gmt":"2013-01-07T07:10:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/petitesbullesdailleurs\/?p=3368"},"modified":"2025-09-02T01:23:54","modified_gmt":"2025-09-01T23:23:54","slug":"gros-coquillage-benitier-geant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/en\/gros-coquillage-benitier-geant-20130107\/","title":{"rendered":"Giant Clam: the Largest Seashell in the World"},"content":{"rendered":"

This big shell is a monster. Huge. It's not for nothing that they call it a \"giant clam\". I've never seen one as big as this one in Raja Ampat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The giant clams of Mioskon<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Ah, Indonesia... I can't stop raving about the surprises that each new trip there brings me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In July 2012, back in the archipelago of Raja Ampat<\/a>Everything continues to amaze me. This is my second stay in these places (see the first one: in March 2012<\/a>), but it's impossible to be jaded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"The$ <\/a>
Mioskon Island (Raja Ampat, Indonesia, July 2012)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
The small island of Mioskon, with its unusual cloud of bats<\/a> above its cute white sand beach, conquered me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Underwater, another curiosity awaits me: the world's largest shell... \ud83d\ude32 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"Near$ <\/a>
Near the island of Mioskon, a giant clam. (Raja Ampat, Indonesia, July 2012)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
My friends Jimmy and Julia from Sorido Bay Resort, who are accompanying me on this new dive, warned me: \u00a0\"Get your camera ready, <\/em>they tell me in the Anglo-Saxon way (the term camera<\/em> designating anything that captures images, from cameras to video cameras). You'll see, there are some beautiful clams!\"\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
The giant clam, also called giant tridacne<\/a> (Tridacna gigas<\/em> is a gigantic shellfish, measuring up to 1.50 m in length and weighing over 200 kg. It is the largest bivalve mollusc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes, it can be eaten - the flesh of the shell is edible - but it is prohibited. The species is endangered and protected. It is quite common in the warm seas of the Indo-Pacific area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before this trip, it is probably at Pulau Weh<\/a>on the other side of Indonesia, and also in Bali on the side of Amed<\/a>I had to see the biggest ones. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But here. I mean, really. It's bigger than any giant clam I've ever seen before. It's enormous! As ever, in Raja Ampat, the \"usual\" tropical fauna is a cut above anything seen elsewhere in Indonesia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the Mioskon site, there are several clams. But there is one very big one, much bigger than the others. Its yellowish-brown flesh pulsates, spilling out in big, fleshy, purplish lips over the shell. All of this in the middle of the coral, which is teeming with life, as always.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"The$ <\/a>
The giant clam or giant tridacne can measure up to 1.50 m in length and weigh over 200 kg. It's the biggest shellfish in the world! (Raja Ampat, Indonesia, July 2012)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
$\"This$ <\/a>
This giant tridacne is really spectacular. (Mioskon, Raja Ampat, Indonesia, July 2012)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Update July 2016 :<\/mark><\/strong> I returned to Raja Ampat, several years after this trip in July 2012. I went back to Mioskon, in particular\u00a0in January 2015<\/a>then in november 2015<\/a>Every time, I couldn't wait to find the big shell again! Sadly, in July 2016, on another trip to Raja Ampat, I discovered, stunned, that this magnificent and spectacular clam had died. Gone was the throbbing purplish-brown flesh... Underwater, all that remained of this Mioskon clam was an enormous, empty gray shell. Nobody could tell me what had happened to it (illness, fishing). It made me a little sad, the disappearance of this giant shell... I consoled myself with other clams of good size, on other sites, notably Chicken Bay. I've posted a photo below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"My$ <\/a>
My dive guide Fred poses in front of another giant clam four years later at the Chicken Bay site. (Raja Ampat, Indonesia, July 2016)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Profusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
At Mioskon, when you've had enough of staring at the clams, you'll be mesmerized by the countless schools of yellowtail snapper, coiling and uncoiling at shallow depths near the reef. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"A$ <\/a>
A school of yellowtail snappers flees as I approach (Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia, March 2012).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
$\"School$ <\/a>
School of snappers at the Mioskon site in Raja Ampat. (West Papua, Indonesia, July 2016.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
There's also a good chance of catching\u00a0 wobbegongs<\/a>these funny bearded shark-tapis that look nothing like with terrifying things full of teeth<\/a> seen in certain films...<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The one pictured below \"took off\" from the reef without warning. I hadn't seen it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I scared him and he ran off. But he ran straight towards me and I just had time to trigger my \"camera\", in a hurry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"A$ <\/a>
A wobbegong (bearded whale shark) \"takes off\" from the reef, right in front of me (Mioskon, Raja Ampat, Indonesia, July 2012)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Fortunately, I also have with me some cooperative human models, who deign to stop for a moment above the schools of fish...<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"My$ <\/a>
My friend Julia poses above a school of yellowtail snappers, numerous in the waters of Mioskon (Raja Ampat, Indonesia, July 2012).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
In short, there's plenty to do, with all the junk coming from everywhere...<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Profusion. This is the word that comes to me every time to talk about Raja Ampat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"The$ <\/a>
The reefs of Raja Ampat are home to a profusion of life. (Mioskon, Raja Ampat, Indonesia, July 2012)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Even the most \"mundane\" site here is extraordinary for the abundance and variety of fauna to be found here, and for the colors and density of the coral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No, really, nowhere else in Indonesia - except maybe some sites in Komodo<\/a> - Neither in Malaysia nor in Thailand, I had this feeling of incredible profusion under water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"Raja Ampat, where all the fish lives!\"<\/em> like to say Max Ammer<\/a>a pioneer of diving in the archipelago. And he's not wrong. All the fish live here!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the end of the dive, at shallow depth, I settle in front of an imposing pink anemone, home to the \"usual\" clownfish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I watch them for a moment. There's a little family, frightened by my arrival, huddling under the protective tentacles of their \"home\". It's been a long time since I've photographed a \"Nemo\"... I sometimes tend to disdain them during my dives, as I've stored too many of them on my hard drives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But this time, the beautiful velvety mauve of the anemone tempts me. Come on, one last one for the road! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
$\"Cuckoo$ <\/a>
Hello, Nemos (Mioskon, Raja Ampat, Indonesia, July 2012)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\u279c\u00a0To see all the articles about my dives at Raja Ampat : one click here !<\/a><\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This shell is a monster. It's not for nothing that they call it a \"giant clam\". I've never seen one as big as this one in Raja Ampat.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33713,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tpgb_global_settings":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[152],"tags":[213,563,26,295,91,145,297],"class_list":["post-3368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-voyage-alor-raja-ampat-indonesie-2012","tag-nature","tag-dive-plonger-indonesie","tag-indonesie","tag-plongee","tag-insolite","tag-papouasie-occidentale","tag-raja-ampat"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/benitier-geant-mioskon-7324.jpg?wsr","tpgb_featured_images":{"full":["https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/benitier-geant-mioskon-7324.jpg?wsr",1600,1067,false],"tp-image-grid":["https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/benitier-geant-mioskon-7324-700x700.jpg?wsr",700,700,true],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/benitier-geant-mioskon-7324-250x250.jpg?wsr",250,250,true],"medium":["https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/benitier-geant-mioskon-7324-390x260.jpg?wsr",390,260,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/benitier-geant-mioskon-7324-770x513.jpg?wsr",770,513,true],"large":["https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/benitier-geant-mioskon-7324-780x520.jpg?wsr",780,520,true],"default":"https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/wp-content\/plugins\/the-plus-addons-for-block-editor\/assets\/images\/tpgb-placeholder.jpg"},"tpgb_post_meta_info":{"get_date":"7 January 2013","get_modified_date":"2 September 2025","category_list":{"category":[{"term_id":152,"name":"Indon\u00e9sie : Alor + Raja Ampat - juillet 2012","slug":"voyage-alor-raja-ampat-indonesie-2012","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":157,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Voyage d'un mois en Indon\u00e9sie. Plong\u00e9e sous-marine \u00e0 Alor (petites \u00eeles de la Sonde orientales) et Raja Ampat (Papouasie occidentale). Magnifique !","parent":0,"count":12,"filter":"raw","term_order":"29"}],"post_tag":[{"term_id":213,"name":"Nature","slug":"nature","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":218,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":38,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0"},{"term_id":563,"name":"Plonger en Indon\u00e9sie","slug":"dive-plonger-indonesie","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":568,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":86,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0"},{"term_id":26,"name":"Indon\u00e9sie","slug":"indonesie","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":26,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"Entre oc\u00e9an Indien et oc\u00e9an Pacifique, au c\u0153ur du Triangle de Corail<\/a>, l'Indon\u00e9sie est \u00e0 mes yeux la plus belle des destinations pour la plong\u00e9e sous-marine. Impossible de se lasser de cet archipel immense, s'\u00e9tirant sur trois fuseaux horaires. Je vous emm\u00e8ne explorer ces fonds d'une richesse extraordinaire, de Bali<\/a> \u00e0\u00a0 Sulawesi<\/a>, de Komodo<\/a> \u00e0 Raja Ampat<\/a>, de Born\u00e9o<\/a> aux Moluques<\/a>...","parent":0,"count":182,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0"},{"term_id":295,"name":"Plong\u00e9e","slug":"plongee","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":38,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"La plong\u00e9e sous-marine est votre passion ? Moi aussi. Ici ou ailleurs, de la Bretagne \u00e0 l'Indon\u00e9sie, je vous emm\u00e8ne sous la surface faire des bulles et d\u00e9couvrir les merveilles de l'oc\u00e9an. Plongez \u00e0 travers l'\u00e9cran !","parent":0,"count":171,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0"},{"term_id":91,"name":"Insolite","slug":"insolite","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":96,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":53,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0"},{"term_id":145,"name":"Papouasie\u00a0: Raja Ampat + Triton Bay","slug":"papouasie-occidentale","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":150,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"Raja Ampat<\/strong><\/a> et Triton Bay<\/strong><\/a>, deux spots de plong\u00e9e exceptionnels dans l'est de l'Indon\u00e9sie, sont situ\u00e9s en Papouasie occidentale<\/strong>. Entre les oc\u00e9ans Indien et Pacifique, cette appellation d\u00e9signe historiquement l'immense territoire annex\u00e9 par l'Indon\u00e9sie dans les ann\u00e9es 1960 : la moiti\u00e9 ouest de l'\u00eele de Nouvelle-Guin\u00e9e autrefois colonis\u00e9e par les N\u00e9erlandais.\r\n\r\nCe territoire est aujourd'hui d\u00e9coup\u00e9 administrativement en plusieurs provinces indon\u00e9siennes.\r\n\r\nCelle dont d\u00e9pend l'archipel de Raja Ampat porte d\u00e9sormais le nom de Papua Barat Daya<\/em>. Celle dont d\u00e9pend la zone de Triton Bay a gard\u00e9 le nom de Papua Barat<\/em> (Papouasie occidentale). On acc\u00e8de \u00e0 Raja Ampat par la ville de Sorong<\/strong>, et \u00e0 Triton Bay via<\/em> la ville de Kaimana<\/strong>.\r\n\r\nRetrouvez ci-dessous l'ensemble des articles que j'ai publi\u00e9s sur mes plong\u00e9es en Papouasie.","parent":0,"count":27,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0"},{"term_id":297,"name":"Raja Ampat","slug":"raja-ampat","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":151,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"L'archipel de Raja Ampat est mon spot de plong\u00e9e pr\u00e9f\u00e9r\u00e9 dans la zone Indo-Pacifique. C'est loin, tr\u00e8s loin, dans l'extr\u00eame est de l'Indon\u00e9sie, en Papouasie occidentale... Jamais je n'ai vu ailleurs une telle profusion de vie sous-marine. Commencez par lire l'article ci-dessous o\u00f9 vous trouverez plein d'infos utiles pour pr\u00e9parer un voyage-plong\u00e9e \u00e0 Raja Ampat :\r\n\r\n\u27a1\ufe0f Plonger \u00e0 Raja Ampat : comment organiser le plus beau des voyages<\/a><\/strong>\r\n\r\nEnsuite, pour aller plus loin, vous pouvez consulter ci-dessous l'ensemble des articles que j'ai publi\u00e9s sur Raja Ampat depuis 2012, au fil de mes diff\u00e9rents s\u00e9jours l\u00e0-bas...","parent":0,"count":25,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0"}]},"author_name":"Corinne Bourbeillon","author_url":"https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/en\/author\/cbourbeillon\/","author_email":"corinne.pbda@gmail.com","author_website":"https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/corinne-bourbeillon\/","author_description":"Journaliste, plongeuse et\u00a0photographe sous-marine, Corinne adore faire des bulles avec les\u00a0poissons\u00a0! La beaut\u00e9 du monde et\u00a0de\u00a0l'oc\u00e9an lui ont inspir\u00e9 ce blog. \r\n\r\n En savoir plus<\/a>","author_facebook":"","author_twitter":"","author_instagram":"","author_role":["administrator"],"author_firstname":"Corinne","author_lastname":"Bourbeillon","user_login":"cbourbeillon","author_avatar":"","author_avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7542464a0f3c6a1baf2af7786ad5764b10f9d60908fb1278a969310cf533aedd?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","comment_count":16,"post_likes":0,"post_views":0},"tpgb_post_category":{"category":"Indon\u00e9sie : Alor + Raja Ampat - juillet 2012<\/a> ","post_tag":"Nature<\/a> Plonger en Indon\u00e9sie<\/a> Indon\u00e9sie<\/a> Plong\u00e9e<\/a> Insolite<\/a> Papouasie\u00a0: Raja Ampat + Triton Bay<\/a> Raja Ampat<\/a> "},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3368","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3368"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3368\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51738,"href":"https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3368\/revisions\/51738"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33713"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petitesbullesdailleurs.fr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

Profusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\nAt Mioskon, when you've had enough of staring at the clams, you'll be mesmerized by the countless schools of yellowtail snapper, coiling and uncoiling at shallow depths near the reef. <\/p>\n\n\n\n