Mactridae,

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contra ...

the trough shells or duck clams, is a

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 ...

of saltwater clams,

marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

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 ...

mollusk Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is es ...

s in the

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of ...

Venerida Venerida (formerly Veneroida) is an order of mostly saltwater but also some freshwater bivalve molluscs. This order includes many familiar groups such as many clams that are valued for food and a number of freshwater bivalves. Since the 2000s, ...

Description

These clams have two short siphons, each with a horny sheath. The shell is shaped like a rounded-cornered equilateral triangle and there is a slight gape at the posterior. Each valve bears two cardinal teeth with four lateral teeth on the right valve and two on the left. The foot is white and wedge-shaped. They mostly inhabit the

neritic zone The neritic zone (or sublittoral zone) is the relatively shallow part of the ocean above the drop-off of the continental shelf, approximately in depth. From the point of view of marine biology it forms a relatively stable and well-illuminated ...

Ecology

Trough shells burrow in sand or fine gravel and never in muddy substrates.

Genera

According to the

World Register of Marine Species The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scientific speciali ...

(2012), this family contains 37 genera: * '' Anatina'' Schumacher, 1817 * '' Austromactra'' Iredale, 1930 * '' Barymactra'' Cossmann in Cossmann & Peyrot, 1909 * '' Coelomactra'' Dall, 1895 * ''

Crassula ''Crassula'' is a genus of succulent plants containing about 200 accepted species, including the popular jade plant (''Crassula ovata''). They are members of the stonecrop family (Crassulaceae) and are native to many parts of the globe, but cult ...

'' Marwick, 1948 * '' Cyclomactra''

Dall Dall may refer to: People * Anders Bendssøn Dall (died 1607), Danish Lutheran bishop * Bobby Dall (born 1963), American musician * Caroline Healey Dall (1822–1912), American feminist writer *Clarrie Dall (1887–1953), Australian footballer * C ...

, 1895 * '' Darina'' Gray, 1853 * '' Diaphoromactra'' Iredale, 1930 * '' Eastonia'' Gray, 1853 * '' Harvella'' Gray, 1853 * '' Heterocardia'' Deshayes, 1855 * '' Huberimactra'' Cosel & Gofas, 2018 * '' Leptospisula'' Dall, 1895 * ''

Lutraria ''Lutraria'' is a genus of medium-sized marine bivalve mollusks or clams, commonly known as otter shells. Characteristics Members of this genus have large, elongated oval shells with two equal sized valves. The anterior end is somewhat sharply ...

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 ...

, 1799 * ''

Mactra ''Mactra'' is a large genus of medium-sized marine bivalve mollusks or clams, commonly known as trough shells or duck clams. ''Mactra'' is the type genus within the family Mactridae.MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Mactra Linnaeus, 1767 ...

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 ...

, 1767 * '' Mactrellona'' Marks, 1915 * '' Mactrinula'' Gray, 1853 * '' Mactromeris'' Conrad, 1868 * '' Mactrotoma'' Dall, 1894 * '' Maorimactra'' Finlay, 1928 * '' Meropesta'' Iredale, 1929 * ''

Mulinia ''Mulinia'' is a genus of small to medium-sized saltwater and estuarine clams, marine bivalve mollusks in the family Mactridae. Species Species within the genus ''Mulinia'' include: * ''Mulinia cleryana'' * ''Mulinia coloradoensis'' – the Col ...

'' Gray, 1837 * '' Oxyperas'' Mörch, 1853 *'' Pseudocardium'' Gabb, 1866 * '' Raeta'' Gray, 1853 * '' Rangia'' Desmoulins, 1832 * '' Resania'' Gray, 1853 * '' Scalpomactra'' Finlay

n Marwick N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

1928 * ''

Scissodesma ''Scissodesma'' is a genus of bivalves belonging to the subfamily Mactrinae of the family Mactridae. The species of this genus are found in Africa. Species: *''Scissodesma acutissima'' *''Scissodesma (Crepispisula) amekiensis'' *''Scissodesm ...

'' Gray, 1837 * '' Simomactra'' Dall, 1894 * '' Spisula'' Gray, 1837 * '' Standella'' Gray, 1853 * '' Tanysiphon'' Benson, 1858 * ''

Tresus ''Tresus'' is a genus of saltwater clams, marine 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 ...

'' Gray, 1853 * ''

Trinitasia ''Trinitasia'' is a genus of saltwater clams, marine bivalve mollusks in the family Mactridae Mactridae, common name the trough shells or duck clams, is a family of saltwater clams, marine bivalve mollusks in the order Venerida. Description ...

'' Maury, 1928 * '' Tumbeziconcha'' Pilsbry & Olsson, 1935 * ''

Zenatia ''Zenatia'' is a genus of medium-sized clams, marine bivalve molluscs in the family Mactridae. Distribution This genus is endemic to New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It ...

'' Gray, 1853 * '' Zenatina'' Gill & Darragh, 1963

References

* Powell A. W. B., ''New Zealand Mollusca'', William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 Bivalve families Taxa named by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck Extant Cretaceous first appearances {{Bivalve-stub