Limopsidae 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 ...

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 ...

s, related to the

ark clam Ark clam is the common name for a family of small to large-sized saltwater clams or marine bivalve molluscs in the family Arcidae. Generally less than 80 mm long, ark clams vary both in shape and size. They number about 200 species worldwide. T ...

s and

bittersweet Bittersweet, bitter-sweet, or bitter sweet may refer to: Biology * A vine in the nightshade family, ''Solanum dulcamara'' * Some species of vines in the genus ''Celastrus'', including American bittersweet (''C. scandens'') and Oriental bitters ...

s. This family contains about thirty species in seven genera.

Species

* '' Crenulilimopsis'' Kuroda & Habe, 1971 * '' Cnisma'' Mayer, 1868 * '' Empleconia'' Dall, 1908 * '' Limarca'' Tate, 1886 * '' Limopsis'' Sassi, 1827 ** '' Limopsis affinis'' A. E. Verrill, 1885 ** '' Limopsis antillensis'' Dall, 1881 ** '' Limopsis aurita'' ** '' Limopsis cristata'' Jeffreys, 1876 ** '' Limopsis davidis'' Hedley, 1899original species description, pages 564–565.
** '' Limopsis davinae'' Esteves, 1984 ** '' Limopsis galathea'' ** '' Limopsis hirtella'' Mabille & Rochebrune, 1889 ** '' Limopsis janeiroensis'' E. A. Smith, 1915 ** '' Limopsis marionensis'' E. A. Smith, 1885 ** '' Limopsis minuta'' (

Philippi Philippi (; , ''Phílippoi'') was a major Greek city northwest of the nearby island, Thasos. Its original name was Crenides (, ''Krēnĩdes'' "Fountains") after its establishment by Thasian colonists in 360/359 BC. The city was renamed by Phili ...

, 1836) ** '' Limopsis multistrata'' ** '' Limopsis onchodes'' Dall, 1927 ** '' Limopsis paucidentata'' Dall, 1886 ** '' Limopsis pelagica'' E. A. Smith, 1885 ** '' Limopsis perieri'' P. Fischer, 1869 ** '' Limopsis plana'' A. E. Verrill, 1885 ** '' Limopsis radialis'' Dall, 1927 ** '' Limopsis spicata'' Oliver & Allen, 1980 ** '' Limopsis sulcata'' A. E. Verrill & Bush, 1898 ** '' Limopsis surinamensis'' Oliver & Allen, 1980 ** '' Limopsis tenella'' Jeffreys, 1876 ** '' Limopsis zealandica'' Hutton, 1873 * '' Nipponolimopsis'' Habe, 1951 * '' Nucunella''

d'Orbigny Alcide Charles Victor Marie Dessalines d'Orbigny (6 September 1802 – 30 June 1857) was a French naturalist who made major contributions in many areas, including zoology (including malacology), palaeontology, geology, archaeology and anthropol ...

, 1850

''Limopsis''

Species of the genus '' Limopsis'' are among the few

suspension feeding Filter feeders are aquatic animals that acquire nutrients by feeding on organic matters, food particles or smaller organisms (bacteria, microalgae and zooplanktons) suspended in water, typically by having the water pass over or through a specia ...

deep-sea bivalves, and are absent from the

continental shelf A continental shelf is a portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow water, known as a shelf sea. Much of these shelves were exposed by drops in sea level during glacial periods. The shelf surrounding an islan ...

. They are relatively small, byssate (i.e. attached to the sea floor by strong threads, or

byssus A byssus () is a bundle of filaments secreted by many species of bivalve mollusc that function to attach the mollusc to a solid surface. Species from several families of clams have a byssus, including pen shells ( Pinnidae), true mussels (Mytili ...

), and, while the

viscera In a multicellular organism, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in a structural unit to serve a common function. In the hierarchy of life, an organ lies between tissue and an organ system. Tissues are formed from same type cells to a ...

are reduced, there is a comparatively thick shell. Differences between species are usually defined by minor differences in

gill A gill () is a respiration organ, respiratory organ that many aquatic ecosystem, aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow r ...

and

palp Pedipalps (commonly shortened to palps or palpi) are the secondary pair of forward appendages among chelicerates – a group of arthropods including spiders, scorpions, horseshoe crabs, and sea spiders. The pedipalps are lateral to the chelicera ...

structure. The eggs are relatively few and of a size which suggests that the

plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms that drift in Hydrosphere, water (or atmosphere, air) but are unable to actively propel themselves against ocean current, currents (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are ca ...

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

e do not fee

References

Limopsidae, Bivalve families {{bivalve-stub