Pterioidea is a superfamily of epifaunal 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 ...

s 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 ...

s as well as the oddly shaped hammer oysters (neither of which, however, is considered a true oyster). A number of species have found use as

model organism A model organism is a non-human species that is extensively studied to understand particular biological phenomena, with the expectation that discoveries made in the model organism will provide insight into the workings of other organisms. Mo ...

s 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 (biology), family of medium-sized to large saltwater oysters. They are pearl oysters, Marine (ocean), marine bivalve mollusks in the order Pteriida. Some of the species in this family are i ...

, 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 Bakevelliidae is an extinct family (biology), family of prehistoric bivalves that lived from the Late Mississippian age, Mississippian until the Middle Eocene.

*Family † Cassianellidae *Family † Isognomonidae *Family † Kochiidae *Family † Pergamidiidae *Family † Plicatostylidae *Family † Posidoniidae *Family † Pterineidae *Family † Retroceramidae

References

Pteriida Mollusc superfamilies {{Bivalve-stub