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Plicatulidae

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Plicatulidae
Members of the species Plicatula gibbosa, including both modern (right) and fossil (left) specimens
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Bivalvia
Order: Pectinida
Superfamily: Plicatuloidea
Family: Plicatulidae
Watson, 1930
Genera

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The Plicatulidae are a family of saltwater clams, marine bivalve mollusks, known commonly as kitten's paws or kittenpaws.[1] These bivalves are related to oysters and scallops. The family has a single living genus, Plicatula, with a second, Harpax known from fossils.

Description

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Plicatulidae are small, with weakly convex shells which are irregularly oval or even almost triangular. Typically, they attach themselves to a hard surface by the right valve. The ligament is internal and triangular.

Life cycle

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Plicatulidae members start off in the larval stage.

Genera and species

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Synonyms
  • Plicatulostrea Simone & Amaral, 2008: synonym of Plicatula Lamarck, 1801
  • Spiniplicata [sic]: synonym of Spiniplicatula Habe, 1977: synonym of Plicatula Lamarck, 1801 (misspelling)
  • Spiniplicatula Habe, 1977: synonym of Plicatula Lamarck, 1801

References

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  1. ^ Abbott, R.T. & Morris, P.A. A Field Guide to Shells: Atlantic and Gulf Coasts and the West Indies. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1995. 34.
  • Vaught, K.C.; Tucker Abbott, R.; Boss, K.J. (1989). A classification of the living Mollusca. American Malacologists: Melbourne. ISBN 0-915826-22-4. XII, 195 pp
  • Bieler, R.; Carter, J. G.; Coan, E. V. (2010). Classification of Bivalve families. Pp. 113-133, in: Bouchet P. & Rocroi J.-P. (2010), Nomenclator of Bivalve Families. Malacologia. 52(2): 1-184
  • Coan, E. V.; Valentich-Scott, P. (2012). Bivalve seashells of tropical West America. Marine bivalve mollusks from Baja California to northern Peru. 2 vols, 1258 pp.
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  • "Plicatulostrea a new genus of Plicatulidae" (PDF).