Pteriidae
Appearance
Feather oysters | |
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A live individual of Pinctada margaritifera | |
Scientific classification | |
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Phylum: | |
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Order: | |
Family: | Pteriidae Gray, 1847
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Genera | |
See text |
Pteriidae, also called the feather oysters, is a family of medium-sized to large saltwater clams. They are pearl oysters, marine bivalve molluscs in the order Pterioida.[1]
Some of the species in this family are important economically as the source of saltwater pearls.
Genera
Genera in the family Pteriidae include:
- Crenatula Lamarck, 1803
- Electroma Stoliczka, 1871
- Isognomon Lightfoot, 1786 - tree oysters
- Pinctada Röding, 1798
- Pteria Scopoli, 1777 - winged oysters
- Vulsella Röding, 1798
References
- ^ Pteriidae Gray, 1847. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species on 9 July 2010.
- Powell A. W. B., New Zealand Mollusca, William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 ISBN 0-00-216906-1