Plicatulidae
| Kittenpaws | |
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| Family: | Plicatulidae
Wilson 1930 |
| Genus: | Plicatula
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| Species | |
|
7, See text. | |
The Plicatulidae are a family of saltwater clams, marine bivalve mollusks, known commonly as kitten's paws or kittenpaws.[1] These bivalves are related to oysters and scallops. The family is monotypic, having a single genus, with seven species.
Description
Plicatulidae are small, with weakly convex shells which are irregularly oval or even almost triangular. Typically, they attach themselves to a hard surface by the right valve. The ligament is internal and triangular.
Genus and species
- Plicatula Lamarck, 1801
- Plicatula australis Lamarck, 1819
- Plicatula chinensis Mörch, 1853
- Plicatula complanata
- Plicatula gibbosa Lamarck, 1801 — Atlantic kitten's paw
- Plicatula miskito Petuch, 1998
- Plicatula muricata
- Plicatula plicata Linnaeus, 1758
References
- ^ Abbott, R.T. & Morris, P.A. A Field Guide to Shells: Atlantic and Gulf Coasts and the West Indies. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1995. 34.