Mytilidae are 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 small to large

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 ...

and brackish-water

bivalve Bivalvia (), in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class (biology), class of marine and freshwater Mollusca, molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hing ...

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 est ...

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 ...

Mytilida Mytilida is an order of marine bivalve molluscs, commonly known as true mussels. There is one extant superfamily, the Mytiloidea, with a single extant family, the Mytilidae. Species in the order Mytilida are found worldwide, but they are more ...

. One of the genera, '' Limnoperna'', even inhabits

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does incl ...

environments. The order has only this one family which contains some 52 genera.Bouchet, P. (2014
Mytilidae Rafinesque, 1815
World Register of Marine Species Species in the family Mytilidae are found worldwide, but they are more abundant in colder seas, where they often form uninterrupted beds on rocky shores in the

intertidal zone The intertidal zone, also known as the foreshore, is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide (in other words, the area within the tidal range). This area can include several types of habitats with various species ...

and the shallow subtidal. The subfamily Bathymodiolinae is found in deep-sea habitats. Mytilids include the well-known edible sea mussels. A common feature of the shells of mussels is an asymmetrical shell which has a thick, adherent

periostracum The periostracum ( ) is a thin, organic coating (or "skin") that is the outermost layer of the shell of many shelled animals, including molluscs and brachiopods. Among molluscs, it is primarily seen in snails and clams, i.e. in gastropods ...

. The animals attach themselves to a solid substrate using a

byssus A byssus () is a bundle of filaments secreted by many species of bivalve mollusc that function to attach the mollusc to a solid surface. Species from several families of clams have a byssus, including pen shells ( Pinnidae), true mussels (Mytili ...

. A 2020 study of the phylogeny of Mytilidae recovered two main

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English ter ...

s derived from an epifaunal ancestor, with subsequent lineages shifting to other lifestyles, and correlating

convergent evolution Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last com ...

siphon A siphon (from grc, σίφων, síphōn, "pipe, tube", also spelled nonetymologically syphon) is any of a wide variety of devices that involve the flow of liquids through tubes. In a narrower sense, the word refers particularly to a tube in a ...

traits.

Genera

California mussel (Mytilus californianus) 01

Genera within the family Mytilidae include: * ''

Adipicola ''Adipicola'' is a genus of saltwater clams, marine bivalve molluscs in the family Mytilidae, the mussels. Species The World Register of Marine Species lists the following species: * '' Adipicola apenninica'' Danise, Bertolaso & Dominici, ...

'' Dautzenberg, 1927 * ''

Adula The Rheinwaldhorn ( it, Adula) is the highest point in the Swiss canton of Ticino at 3,402 metres above sea level. It lies on the border between the cantons of Graubünden and Ticino, in the Adula massif, part of the St. Gotthard massif of the ...

'' H. Adams & A. Adams, 1857 * ''

Amygdalum ''Amygdalum'' is a genus of saltwater mussels, marine bivalve mollusks in the family Mytilidae, the true mussels.Abbott, R.T. & Morris, P.A. ''A Field Guide to Shells: Atlantic and Gulf Coasts and the West Indies.'' New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1 ...

'' Megerle von Muhlfeld, 1811 * ''

Arcuatula ''Arcuatula'' is a genus of mussels from the family Mytilidae. Species The following species are currently recognised under the genus ''Arcuatula'': * ''Arcuatula arcuatula'' (Hanley, 1843) * ''Arcuatula capensis'' (Krauss, 1848) * ''Arcuatula ...

'' Jousseaume in Lamy, 1919 (incl. ''

Musculista ''Arcuatula'' is a genus of mussels from the family Mytilidae. Species The following species are currently recognised under the genus ''Arcuatula'': * ''Arcuatula arcuatula'' (Hanley, 1843) * ''Arcuatula capensis'' (Krauss, 1848) * ''Arcuatula ...

'') * '' Arenifodiens'' Wilson, 2006 * '' Arvella'' Bartsch, 1960 * '' Aulacomya'' Mörch, 1853 * '' Bathymodiolus'' Kenk & Wilson, 1985 * '' Benthomodiolus'' Dell, 1987 * ''

Botula ''Botula'' is a genus of mussels in the family Mytilidae Mytilidae are a family of small to large marine and brackish-water bivalve molluscs in the order Mytilida. One of the genera, '' Limnoperna'', even inhabits freshwater environments. ...

'' Mörch, 1853 * '' Brachidontes'' Swainson, 1840 * '' Choromytilus'' Soot-Ryen, 1952 * '' Crenella'' T. Brown, 1827 * '' Crenomytilus'' Soot-Ryen, 1955 * '' Dacrydium'' Torell, 1859 * '' Exosiperna'' Iredale, 1929 * '' Fungiacava'' T. F. Goreau, N. I. Goreau, Neumann & Yonge, 1968 * '' Geukensia'' Van de Poel, 1959 * '' Gibbomodiola'' Sacco, 1898 * ''

Gigantidas ''Gigantidas'' is a genus of large, deepwater, hydrothermal vent mussels, marine (ocean), marine bivalve molluscs in the family (biology), family Mytilidae. Distribution and habitat Species in this genus are found on deep-sea hydrothermal vents ...

'' Cosel & Marshall, 2003 * '' Gregariella'' Monterosato, 1884 * '' Idas'' Jeffreys, 1876 * '' Idasola'' Iredale, 1939 * '' Ischadium'' Jukes-Browne, 1905 * '' Jolya'' Bourguignat, 1877 * '' Leiosolenus'' Carpenter, 1857 * '' Limnoperna'' Rochebrune, 1882 * '' Lioberus'' Dall, 1898 * ''

Lithophaga ''Lithophaga'', the date mussels, are a genus of medium-sized marine bivalve molluscs in the family Mytilidae. Some of the earliest fossil ''Lithophaga'' shells have been found in Mesozoic rocks from the Alps and from Vancouver Island.Ludvigsen, ...

'' Röding, 1798 * '' Megacrenella'' Habe & Ito, 1965 * '' Modiolatus'' Jousseaume, 1893 * '' Modiolula'' Sacco, 1898 * ''

Modiolarca ''Modiolarca'', is a genus of medium-sized Marine (ocean), marine bivalve molluscs in the family (biology), Family Mytilidae, the mussels. Species within the genus ''Modiolarca'' * ''Modiolarca bicolor'' * ''Modiolarca cummingiana'' * ''Modiolar ...

'' Gray, 1842 * '' Modiolus''

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 ...

, 1799 * '' Musculus'' Röding, 1798 * ''

Mytella ''Mytella'' is a genus of saltwater clams, marine bivalve molluscs in the family Mytilidae Mytilidae are a family of small to large marine and brackish-water bivalve molluscs in the order Mytilida. One of the genera, '' Limnoperna'', even ...

'' Soot-Ryen, 1955 * '' Mytilaster'' Monterosato, 1884 * '' Mytilus''

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 Events January–March * January 1 – Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus (Carl von Linné) publishes in Stockholm the first volume (''Animalia'') of the 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', the starting point of modern zoologi ...

; includes most edible mussel species * '' Perna'' Philipsson, 1788 - incl. New Zealand green-lipped mussel * '' Perumytilus'' Olsson, 1961 * '' Rhomboidella'' Monterosato, 1884 * ''

Semimytilus ''Semimytilus'' is a genus in the family Mytilidae. The genus is also connected with freshwater habitats. Species Species in this genus include: *''Semimytilus algosus ''Semimytilus algosus'' is a species of mussels. A common name for this spe ...

'' Soot-Ryen, 1955 * '' Septifer'' Recluz, 1848 * '' Sinomytilus'' Thiele, 1934 * '' Solamen'' Iredale, 1924 * '' Stavelia'' Gray, 1858 * '' Tamu'' Gustafson, Turner, Lutz & Vrijenhoek, 1998 * ''

Trichomya ''Trichomya'' is a monotypic genus of marine bivalve molluscs in the family Mytilidae, the mussels. The only species is ''Trichomya hirsuta'' which is endemic to southern and eastern Australia. Its common names include the hairy mussel, the gre ...

'' Ihering, 1900 * '' Urumella'' Hayami & Kase, 1993 * '' Vilasina'' Bartsch, 1960 * '' Vulcanidas'' Cosel & B. A. Marshall, 2010 * ''

Xenostrobus ''Xenostrobus'' is a genus of saltwater, brackish water and freshwater clams, marine (ocean), marine bivalve molluscs in the subfamily Xenostrobinae of the family Mytilidae, the mussels.MolluscaBase eds. (2023). MolluscaBase. Xenostrobus B. R. Wi ...

'' Wilson, 1967 * '' Zelithophaga'' Finlay, 1926

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Bivalve families Taxa named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque