anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having it ...

, a resilium is part of the

shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard o ...

of certain 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. It is an internal ligament, which holds the two valves together and is located in a pit or depression known as the

resilifer A resilifer is a part of the shell of certain bivalve mollusks. It is either a recess (a pit or groove of some sort) or a process, the function of which is the attachment of an internal ligament, which holds the two valves together. An internal ...

. The resilium is part of the hinge mechanism in certain taxonomic families of

bivalve shell A bivalve shell is part of the body, the exoskeleton or shell, of a bivalve mollusk. In life, the shell of this class of mollusks is composed of two hinged parts or ''valves''. Bivalves are very common in essentially all aquatic locales, includi ...

s, such as oysters and

scallops Scallop () is a common name that encompasses various species of Marine (ocean), marine bivalve mollusc, mollusks in the Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic Family (biology), family Pectinidae, the scallops. However, the common name "scallop" is also s ...

. A resilium (and the resilifer, its associated contact point) is the primary structure comprising the type of bivalve hinge that is known as an "disodont" hinge.

References

Mollusc shells {{bivalve-stub