The Plicatulidae are a

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

of saltwater clams,

marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military ...

bivalve Bivalvia (), in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class (biology), class of marine and freshwater Mollusca, molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hing ...

mollusk Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is e ...

s, known commonly as kitten's paws or kittenpaws.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. These bivalves are related to

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not ...

s and

scallop Scallop () is a common name that encompasses various species of marine bivalve mollusks in the taxonomic family Pectinidae, the scallops. However, the common name "scallop" is also sometimes applied to species in other closely related families ...

s. The family has a single living genus, ''

Plicatula Plicatula is a genus of saltwater clams, marine bivalve molluscs, known commonly as kitten's paws or kittenpaws in the family Plicatulidae. MolluscaBase eds. (2022). MolluscaBase. Plicatula Lamarck, 1801. Accessed through: World Register of Mari ...

'', with a second, ''

Harpax The ''harpax'' or ''harpago'' ( ''lit.'' "grabber, seizer, robber"; GEN ''harpagos'') was a Roman catapult-shot grapnel created by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa for use against Sextus Pompey during the naval battles of the Sicilian revolt. The ha ...

'' known from fossils.

Description

Plicatulidae are small, with weakly

convex Convex or convexity may refer to: Science and technology * Convex lens, in optics Mathematics * Convex set, containing the whole line segment that joins points ** Convex polygon, a polygon which encloses a convex set of points ** Convex polytop ...

shells which are irregularly

oval An oval () is a closed curve in a plane which resembles the outline of an egg. The term is not very specific, but in some areas (projective geometry, technical drawing, etc.) it is given a more precise definition, which may include either one ...

or even almost triangular. Typically, they attach themselves to a hard surface by the right valve. The

ligament A ligament is the fibrous connective tissue that connects bones to other bones. It is also known as ''articular ligament'', ''articular larua'', ''fibrous ligament'', or ''true ligament''. Other ligaments in the body include the: * Peritoneal l ...

is internal and triangular.

Life cycle

Plicatulidae members start off in the larval stage.

Genera and species

* ''

'' Parkinson, 1811 * ''

Lamarck Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, chevalier de Lamarck (1 August 1744 – 18 December 1829), often known simply as Lamarck (; ), was a French naturalist, biologist, academic, and soldier. He was an early proponent of the idea that biolo ...

, 1801 * † '' Pseudoplacunopsis'' Bittner, 1895 *'' Plicastulostrea onca'': synonym of ''

Plicatula australis Plicatula is a genus of saltwater clams, marine bivalve molluscs, known commonly as kitten's paws or kittenpaws in the family Plicatulidae. MolluscaBase eds. (2022). MolluscaBase. Plicatula Lamarck, 1801. Accessed through: World Register of Mar ...

'' Lamarck, 1819 (type by original designation); a species from Thailand ;Synonyms: * ''Plicatulostrea'' Simone & Amaral, 2008: synonym of ''Plicatula'' Lamarck, 1801 * ''Spiniplicata'' ic synonym of Spiniplicatula Habe, 1977: synonym of ''Plicatula'' Lamarck, 1801 (misspelling) * ''Spiniplicatula'' Habe, 1977: synonym of ''Plicatula'' Lamarck, 1801

References

* 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.

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q3392444 Bivalve families