当涉及大蛤lam时，很少有物种能真正吸引我们的注意力，就像一个漂亮的大型，蓝色的Squamosa蛤一样。确保我们的头会疯狂地稀有Tonga Devil clam， 一个非洲n Costata clam，，，，blue Derasa clams之类的，但要醒目的质量，巨型蓝色Tridacna squamosa不能被击败。
我们不是在谈论曲奇养殖蓝鳞that are produced by the hundreds, but the one of a kind, brilliant blue and near-black patterned stunners that are truly one in a thousand. We’ve seen our fair share of sexy blue squammies in aquariums, but yesterday we came face to face with the pinnacle of this type of clam we’re talking about.
与文森特·夏利亚斯（Vincent Chalias）巴厘岛水族馆作为我们的向导，我们沿着印度尼西亚图伦本及其周边地区的巴厘岛海岸线沿线占据了许多潜水地点。在一个特别的潜水中，他告诉我们他以前曾见过一个蓝色的鳞状蛤，但是没有什么能正确描述这个巨大的凹槽蛤s这个巨大标本的光荣色彩，图案和巨大尺寸。
No words or descriptions could have prepared us for coming face to face with this exceptional squammie, which was all the more glorious due to being a maximum size for the species nearing about 18 inches long, and over a foot wide – that’s 45 cm long by 30 cm wide for the rest of the world. This sighting was made all the more special due to a special blessing of perfect dive conditions.
Clear water, calm seas, and low current were really conducive to capturing the blue squamosa clam in pictures and in a nice video tour. It also didn’t hurt that this particular bivalve was not camera shy, and it hardly flinched its mantle despite our trio of powerful LED video lights beaming brightly on that luscious mantle.
If you want an indication of how large this particularTridacna squamosa是的，请查看下面的视频，并从蛤壳的长笛中生长出完整种植的水叶叶，而无数的鱼实际上游泳了里面the body cavity of the clam. Also be sure to scroll down for some images of ‘normal’ colored squamosa clam which we photographed in the same region and dive sites of the Tridacna in focus today.
There’s not many reef animals beside giant clams that can tear our attention from coral scouting while on a wild reef. But if we haven’t waxed poetically about this clam enough already, let’s just say that we don’t believe we’ll ever see another clam as impressively colored as this one.
If we’d spent the entire dive observing this blue squamosa clam in-situ for a whole tank, that would have been fine with us. Thankfully, there’s still lots more awesome reef animals to look for and document, especially in Indonesia, and this mature adult blue squamosa clam is just the first gem from our diving and reef travels in Indonesia this year.
