''Sphaerium'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...
of very small freshwater clams,
aquatic bivalve
Bivalvia (), in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of marine and freshwater molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hinged parts. As a group, biv ...
molluscs in the
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 ...
Sphaeriidae
Sphaeriidae is a family of small to minute freshwater bivalve molluscs in the order Sphaeriida. In the US, they are commonly known as pea clams or fingernail clams. Heard, William H. 1977. Reproduction of fingernail clams (Sphaeriidae: ''Sphaer ...
, known as the fingernail clams. The small clams in this genus are unusual in that many of them, such as ''
Sphaerium corneum'', can climb around underwater on aquatic plants, using their long and strong foot.
Species
* Subgenus ''Sphaerium''
Scopoli, 1777
:*''
Sphaerium corneum''
(Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, t ...
, 1758
Events
January–March
* January 1 – Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus (Carl von Linné) publishes in Stockholm the first volume (''Animalia'') of the 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', the starting point of modern zoological ...
) – European fingernail clam
* Subgenus ''Nucleocyclas''
Alimov & Starobogatov, 1968
:* ''
Sphaerium nucleus''
(Studer, 1820)
:* ''
Sphaerium ovale
''Sphaerium ovale'' is a freshwater bivalve of the family Sphaeriidae
Sphaeriidae is a family of small to minute freshwater bivalve molluscs in the order Sphaeriida. In the US, they are commonly known as pea clams or fingernail clams. Heard, ...
''
( A. Férussac, 1807)
* Subgenus ''Parasphaerium''
Alimov & Starobogatov, 1968
:*''
Sphaerium nitidum
''Sphaerium nitidum'' is a species of mollusc belonging to the family Sphaeriidae.
Its native range is Subarctic.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3800743
Sphaeriidae
Molluscs described in 1876 ...
''
Clessin, 1876 – Arctic fingernail clam
* Subgenus ''Amesoda''
Rafinesque
Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz (; October 22, 1783September 18, 1840) was a French 19th-century polymath born near Constantinople in the Ottoman Empire and self-educated in France. He traveled as a young man in the United States, ultimat ...
, 1820
:* ''
Sphaerium rivicola
''Sphaerium rivicola'', the river orb mussel, is a species of freshwater bivalve from family Sphaeriidae.
Distribution
Its native distribution is European.
* Czech Republic – in Bohemia, in Moravia, Horsák M., Juřičková L., Beran L., Čej ...
''
(Lamarck
Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, chevalier de Lamarck (1 August 1744 – 18 December 1829), often known simply as Lamarck (; ), was a French naturalist, biologist, academic, and soldier. He was an early proponent of the idea that biolog ...
, 1818)
* Subgenus ''Cyrenastrum''
Bourguignat, 1854
:* ''
Sphaerium solidum''
(Normand, 1844)
* Without subgenus
:*''
Sphaerium asiaticum''
(Martens, 1864)
:* ''
Sphaerium bequaerti
''Sphaerium bequaerti'' is a species of bivalve in the Sphaeriidae family. It is found in Burundi, the Central African Republic, Malawi and Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa T ...
''
(Dautzenberg & Germain, 1914) – data deficient (DD)
:* ''
Sphaerium cornuta''
:* ''
Sphaerium novaezelandiae''
Deshayes, 1854
:* ''
Sphaerium rhomboideum''
(Say, 1822)
:* ''
Sphaerium stuhlmanni''
Martens, 1897 – least concern (LC)
* Extinct
:* ''
Sphaerium beckmani''
Russell, 1976
:* ''
Sphaerium florissantense''
Cockerell, 1906
References
External links
''Sphaerium'' Scopoli, 1777 on BiolibPelecypoda (Clams) on Aquatic Invertebrates of Alberta
*
Taxa named by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli
Bivalve genera
{{Sphaeriidae-stub