Dimyidae is a
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
of extremely flattened, small (<1 cm),
pleurothetic, relatively rare marine
bivalve
Bivalvia () or bivalves, in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class (biology), class of aquatic animal, aquatic molluscs (marine and freshwater) that have laterally compressed soft bodies enclosed b ...
mollusc
Mollusca is a phylum of protostome, protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant taxon, extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum ...
s in the order
Pectinida inhabiting the deeper regions of continental shelves from the Caribbean to Japan. They are sometimes called dimyarian oysters. Unlike other
ostreids, the dimyarian oysters attach themselves to a substrate via their right (rather than left)
valve
A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or Slurry, slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically Pip ...
s. They are related to the
scallops and other
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 no ...
s.
Dimyidae species live in deep sea areas, often on rocks and the sea floor. Their habitat examines how solid surfaces like rocks allow them to avoid being swept away, and the low-profile shell combined with the deep sea habitat protects them from predators.
Genera
Genera within Dimyidae include:
* ''
Basiliomya''
Bayer 1971
** ''
Basiliomya goreaui''
F. M. Bayer, 1971
* ''
Dimya''
Roualt 1848
* ''
Dimyella''
Moore 1969
** ''
Dimyella starcki''
D. R. Moore, 1969
References
[Waller, T. R. (2012). Morphology, Phylogeny, and Systematic Revision of Genera in the Dimyidae (Mollusca, Bivalvia, Pteriomorphia). Journal of Paleontology, 86(5), 829–851. https://doi.org/10.1666/12-004.1]
* Moore, D.R., 1969. A New Genus and Species of Dimyidae from the caribbean Coast of Mexico. Journal de Conchyliologie 107: 137-141
{{bivalve-stub