The Donacidae, the "bean clams" or "wedge shells", are a family of bivalve molluscs of the superfamily Tellinoidea. The family is related to the ''

Tellina ''Tellina'' is a widely distributed genus of marine bivalve molluscs, in the family Tellinidae.Gofas, S. (2011). Tellina Linnaeus, 1758. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id ...

''. The Donacidae are prolific

filter feeders Filter feeders are a sub-group of suspension feeding animals that feed by straining suspended matter and food particles from water, typically by passing the water over a specialized filtering structure. Some animals that use this method of feedin ...

and are an important part of

coast The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in ...

food chains A food chain is a linear network of links in a food web starting from producer organisms (such as grass or algae which produce their own food via photosynthesis) and ending at an apex predator species (like grizzly bears or killer whales), de ...

where they occur. The family is sensitive to coastal industry such as dam-building and dredging.

Description

Members of this family have asymmetric, elongated, compressed shells. The two siphons are short but are completely divided, and the foot is large. They are vigorous burrowers.Barrett, J. H. and C. M. Yonge, 1958. Collins Pocket Guide to the Sea Shore. P. 160. Collins, London

Genera

*'' Capsella'' **'' Capsella variegata'' *'' Donax''

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, the ...

, 1758 *''

Iphigenia In Greek mythology, Iphigenia (; grc, Ἰφιγένεια, , ) was a daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra, and thus a princess of Mycenae. In the story, Agamemnon offends the goddess Artemis on his way to the Trojan War by hunting ...

'' Schumacher, 1817 **'' Iphigenia brasiliana'' (

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 biolo ...

, 1818)

References

Bivalve families Taxa named by John Fleming (naturalist) {{Bivalve-stub