Sphaeriidae is 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 small to minute freshwater
bivalve molluscs in the
order Sphaeriida
Sphaeriida is an order of bivalves belonging to the class Bivalvia.
Families:
* Neomiodontidae
* Sphaeriidae
Sphaeriidae is a family of small to minute freshwater bivalve molluscs in the order Sphaeriida. In the US, they are commonly known ...
. In the US, they are commonly known as pea clams or fingernail clams.
[ Heard, William H. 1977. Reproduction of fingernail clams (Sphaeriidae: ''Sphaerium'' and ''Musculium''). Malacologia, 16: 421-455.]
Genera
Genera:
*
Euperinae
** ''
Byssanodonta''
d'Orbigny, 1846
** ''
Eupera''
Bourguignat, 1854
*
Sphaeriinae
** ''
Afropisidium''
Kuiper, 1962
** ''
Euglesa''
Jenyns, 1832
** ''
Musculium''
Link, 1807
** ''
Odhneripisidium''
Kuiper, 1962
** ''
Pisidium''
C. Pfeiffer, 1821
** ''
Sphaerium''
Scopoli, 1777
* fossils
** †''
Megasphaerioides''
Komatsu, J.-H. Chen & Q.-F. Wang, 2003
** †''
Protosphaerium''
Hocknull, 2000
** †''
Sphaericoncha''
Kolesnikov, 1980
Biology and ecology
Sphaeriidae are
hermaphrodites with internal fertilization. Developing young are incubated within their mother (
ovoviviparity), and newborn clams look like miniature copies of the adults.
[
]Parasite
Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has ...
s and/or predators include the Sciomyzidae
The family Sciomyzidae belongs to the typical flies (Brachycera) of the order Diptera. They are commonly called marsh flies, and in some cases snail-killing flies due to the food of their larvae.
Here, the Huttoninidae, Phaeomyiidae and Tetan ...
.
References
{{Authority control
Bivalve families