Pterioidea is a superfamily of

epifauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is ''funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zool ...

l marine bivalves mostly inhabiting continental shelf regions of tropical and subtropical oceans. The superfamily includes the economically-important saltwater

pearl oyster ''Pinctada'' is a genus of saltwater oysters, marine bivalve mollusks in the family Pteriidae. These pearl oysters have a strong inner shell layer composed of nacre, also known as "mother of pearl". Pearl oysters are not closely related to e ...

s as well as the oddly shaped hammer oysters (neither of which, however, is considered a

true oyster The Ostreidae, the true oysters, include most species of molluscs commonly consumed as oysters. Pearl oysters are not true oysters, and belong to the order Pteriida. Like scallops, true oysters have a central adductor muscle, which means the s ...

). A number of species have found use as model organisms in the fields of medicine and science. It includes the following three accepted living families: * Malleidae, the hammer oysters, Lamarck, 1818 *

Pteriidae Pteriidae, also called the feather oysters, is a family of medium-sized to large saltwater clams. They are pearl oysters, marine bivalve molluscs in the order Pteriida. Some of the species in this family are important economically as the sou ...

, the pearl oysters, tree oysters, and winged oysters, Gray, 1847 (1820) * Pulvinitidae, a family of rare deep sea oysters, no common name, Stephenson, 1941 Fossil families include: *Family † Aviculopectinidae *Family † Bakevelliidae *Family † Cassianellidae *Family † Isognomonidae *Family † Kochiidae *Family † Pergamidiidae *Family † Plicatosylidae *Family † Posidoniidae *Family † Pterineidae *Family † Retroceramidae

References

Pteriida Mollusc superfamilies {{Bivalve-stub