Crocea clams are one of the smallest species ofTridacna, much prized in home reef aquaria since they exhibit a range of colors and patterns which can very greatly in their patterning. At their most basic the boringtridacna鳄鱼幽蓝蛤可以stly gold, but the most attractive and desirable specimens can develop a striking appearance of spots, stripes, and many other eye catching elements.
For decades breeders of giant clam have not well understood how different colors and patterns could be reliably reproduced through crossing different parent clams but new research has shed some light on the challenge. Last year we discovered how there aretwo different types of Blue Squamosa clamswith radically different colors and patterns, each of which are the result of hybridization betweentridacna鳄鱼和T. squamosa但是相互的杂种导致两个截然不同的后代。
类似的互惠育种工作是研究较小的圈养育种的新论文的核心tridacna鳄鱼clam species. Unlike the colors of many other animals, the colors of giant clams is due to light sensitive cells called iridocytes, of which solid blue strains have only one type, while the yellow-green strains have two types of iridocytes.
正如您所期望的那样,当蓝蛤and饲养蓝蛤,彼此之间繁殖金蛤s,由此产生的后代是他们父母的完美匹配。但是,当蓝色鳄鱼蛤br育成金鳄鱼蛤s时,他们的后代更加丰富多彩,展示了其不同父母的三种不同类型的虹膜细胞。
越野鳄鱼蛤不仅显示了两种纯色的蓝色,黄色和绿色虹膜细胞T.鳄鱼蛤lam,但它们还表现出杂种活力,其生存率和更快的增长率比其纯种的半兄弟姐妹更高。对此有更多的兴趣十多位中国研究人员的论文was the elucidation of the specific wavelength excitation peaks of the different light reactive iridocyte cells.
The blue iridocytes have a peak absorption of light at wavelengths at 475nm, and the yellow-green iridocytes have a peak absorption at 550 to 650 nanometers, giving us the knowledge we need to best display these magnificent creatures in our home aquariums. With three types of iridocytes the cross bred crocea clams are much more colorful than their blue or yellow-green colored parents and with an LED light fixture emitting light in the proper wavelengths we can now efficiently excite them to maximum effect.