''Grippina'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

bivalves Bivalvia () or bivalves, in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of aquatic molluscs (marine and freshwater) that have laterally compressed soft bodies enclosed by a calcified exoskeleton consis ...

in the

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 ...

Spheniopsidae Spheniopsidae is a family of 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 lat ...

which currently consists of nine species. It was first described by

William Dall William Healey Dall (August 21, 1845 – March 27, 1927) was an American naturalist, a prominent malacologist, and one of the earliest scientific explorers of interior Alaska. He described many mollusks of the Pacific Northwest of North America, ...

in 1912 with ''G. californica'' recorded in the eastern Pacific Ocean near California, US. Their habitat spans across the Pacific Ocean, mainly centering around Australia and New Zealand, though ''G. coronata'' was found in 2015 off the coast of

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, Brazil in the western Atlantic Ocean. Bivalves in the genus ''Grippina'' are part of the

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

Anomalodesmata Anomalodesmata is an superorder (biology), superorder of saltwater clams, marine (ocean), marine bivalve molluscs. This grouping was formerly recognised as a taxonomic subclass (biology), subclass. It is called a superorder in the current World R ...

, also known as septibranchs, which are

carnivorous A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose nutrition and energy requirements are met by consumption of animal tissues (mainly mu ...

clams. They use their inhalant siphons, adapted with sensory papillae (sometimes cited as

tentacle In zoology, a tentacle is a flexible, mobile, and elongated organ present in some species of animals, most of them invertebrates. In animal anatomy, tentacles usually occur in one or more pairs. Anatomically, the tentacles of animals work main ...

s) to detect motion, to inhale microscopic

crustacean Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquatic arthrop ...

s such as

ostracod Ostracods, or ostracodes, are a Class (biology), class of the crustacean, Crustacea (class Ostracoda), sometimes known as seed shrimp. Some 33,000 species (only 13,000 of which are extant taxon, extant) have been identified,Brandão, S.N.; Antoni ...

s. As

sessile Sessility, or sessile, may refer to: * Sessility (motility), organisms which are not able to move about * Sessility (botany), flowers or leaves that grow directly from the stem or peduncle of a plant * Sessility (medicine), tumors and polyps that ...

benthic The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from the Ancient Greek word (), meaning "the depths". ...

predators, they lie in wait under sand and stick their siphons out into open water to feed. Their shells range in size from about 2–5 millimeters.

Species

* ''

Grippina acherontis ''Grippina'' is a genus of Bivalvia, bivalves in the Family (biology), family Spheniopsidae which currently consists of nine species. It was first described by William Healey Dall, William Dall in 1912 with ''G. californica'' recorded in the east ...

'' B. A. Marshall, 2002 * '' Grippina aupouria'' ( A. W. B. Powell, 1937) * '' Grippina californica'' Dall, 1912 * '' Grippina coronata'' Machado & Passos, 2015 * '' Grippina globosa'' B. A. Marshall, 2002 * '' Grippina pumila'' B. A. Marshall, 2002 * '' Grippina punctata'' B. A. Marshall, 2002 * '' Grippina rex'' B. A. Marshall, 2002 * '' Grippina spirata'' B. A. Marshall, 2002

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q18519291 Bivalve genera Myida