''Malleus'' 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 nom ...
of hammer oysters (
marine bivalve 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 e ...
s) in the family
Malleidae
Malleidae, or hammer oysters, is a family of saltwater clams. They are related to the pearl oysters, in the order PteriidaGofas, S. (2011). Malleidae. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p= ...
. This genus includes 27 known species.
Characteristic of this genus is the unusual "hammer-shaped" outline of the valves. The shells are nearly
equivalved, but the hinge line is extremely long and is at nearly a right angle to the rest of the valves, which grow ventrally. The viscera of the organism are arranged in an oval-shaped patch near the
umbones of the valves.
Species
* ''
Malleus albus''
Lamarck, 1819
* ''
Malleus anatinus''
(Gmelin, 1791)
* ''
Malleus candeanus''
(d'Orbigny, 1853)
* ''
Malleus daemoniacus''
Reeve, 1858
* ''
Malleus legumen''
Reeve, 1858
* ''
Malleus malleus''
(Linnaeus, 1758)
* ''
Malleus meridianus''
Cotton, 1930
* ''
Malleus regula''
(Forsskål in Niebuhr, 1775)
Gallery
Naturalis Biodiversity Center - RMNH.MOL.318529 1 - Malleus malleus (Linnaeus, 1758) - Malleidae - Mollusc shell.jpeg, '' Malleus malleus'' (Linnaeus, 1758)
Naturalis Biodiversity Center - RMNH.MOL.318526 2 - Malleus malleus (Linnaeus, 1758) - Malleidae - Mollusc shell.jpeg, '' Malleus malleus'' (Linnaeus, 1758)
Naturalis Biodiversity Center - RMNH.MOL.318521 - Malleus malleus (Linnaeus, 1758) - Malleidae - Mollusc shell.jpeg, '' Malleus malleus'' (Linnaeus, 1758)
Naturalis Biodiversity Center - RMNH.MOL.318540 1 - Malleus malleus (Linnaeus, 1758) - Malleidae - Mollusc shell.jpeg, '' Malleus malleus'' (Linnaeus, 1758)
References
Malleidae
Bivalve genera
Taxa named by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
{{bivalve-stub