Propeamussiidae, sometimes referred to as glass scallops mud scallops or mud pectens, are a
taxonomic
Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification.
A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
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, bival ...
mollusc
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 esti ...
s in the order
Pectinida
Pectinida is a taxonomic order of large and medium-sized saltwater clams, marine bivalve molluscs, commonly known as scallops and their allies. It is believed that they began evolutionarily in the late Middle Ordovician epoch; many species, of ...
.
Biolib
/ref> As members of the superfamily Pectinoidea
The Pectinoidea are a superfamily of marine bivalve molluscs, including the scallops and spiny oysters.Gofas, S. (2012). Pectinoidea. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=15 ...
, they are closely related to scallop
Scallop () is a common name that encompasses various species of marine bivalve mollusks in the taxonomic family Pectinidae, the scallops. However, the common name "scallop" is also sometimes applied to species in other closely related families ...
s. Extant species are small in size, poorly known, and inhabit deep waters. None of the species within this family has a common name.
Valves
A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically fittings ...
of these animals are fragile, either equivalved or nearly so, small to medium-sized, and are described as ''subcircular'' to ''obscurely ovate'' in shape. Like other scallops, the valves have pronounced "ears" on the anterior and posterior sides of the hinge joint. Valves are also very nearly equilateral. All species have a byssal notch which will vary with depth of species.Triassic
The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 Mya. The Triassic is the first and shortest period ...
period to the Quaternary
The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). It follows the Neogene Period and spans from 2.58 million years ...
period (242.0 to 0.0 Ma). The majority of fossils of this family are distributed throughout Europe and North America.[The Paleobiology Database]
/ref>
Genera
Genera within the family Propeamussidae include:
References
Bivalve families
Extant Triassic first appearances
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