Placunidae
Encyclopedia
Placunidae, are a family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 of marine bivalves that are related to oyster
Oyster
The word oyster is used as a common name for a number of distinct groups of bivalve molluscs which live in marine or brackish habitats. The valves are highly calcified....

s and scallop
Scallop
A scallop is a marine bivalve mollusk of the family Pectinidae. Scallops are a cosmopolitan family, found in all of the world's oceans. Many scallops are highly prized as a food source...

s. The family includes the specie
Specie
Specie may refer to:* Coins or other metal money in mass circulation* Bullion coins* Hard money * Commodity money* Specie Circular, 1836 executive order by US President Andrew Jackson regarding hard money* Specie Payment Resumption Act...

 Placenta placuna also called windowpane oysters or capiz in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

, known for its translucency which are commonly used in shellcraft production.

The family is closely related to the Anomiidae
Anomiidae
Anomiidae is a family of bivalve molluscs related to scallops and oysters, and known as anomiids. It contains seven genera.The family is known by several common names, including jingle shells, saddle oysters and mermaid's toenails....

 (saddle oysters), one of the main differences being that the Placunidae do not attach themselves to a hard surface - instead they are a mud-living family.

Description

Placunidae are suspension feeders, living on shallow, muddy-bottomed waters. The usually lie with the right valve downwards. The ligament
Ligament
In anatomy, the term ligament is used to denote any of three types of structures. Most commonly, it refers to fibrous tissue that connects bones to other bones and is also known as articular ligament, articular larua, fibrous ligament, or true ligament.Ligament can also refer to:* Peritoneal...

 is internal and forms a shallow V-shape.

Cultural usage

Species in the family Placunidae are extensively collected in the Indo-West Pacific, and are cultivated or farmed
Aquaculture
Aquaculture, also known as aquafarming, is the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic plants. Aquaculture involves cultivating freshwater and saltwater populations under controlled conditions, and can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is the...

 in several areas.

The windowpane oysters are valued for their translucent shell. The shells were originally used as a glass
Glass
Glass is an amorphous solid material. Glasses are typically brittle and optically transparent.The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking vessels, is soda-lime glass, composed of about 75% silica plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives...

 substitute in glazing, but nowadays they are mainly used in the manufacture of trays, lampshades and numerous decorative items.

In coast
Coast
A coastline or seashore is the area where land meets the sea or ocean. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the dynamic nature of tides. The term "coastal zone" can be used instead, which is a spatial zone where interaction of the sea and land processes occurs...

al areas the flesh is eaten.

Taxonomy

  • Placuna Lightfoot
    John Lightfoot FRS
    The Reverend John Lightfoot was an English conchologist and botanist.He was born in Newent, Gloucestershire and educated at Pembroke College, Oxford. He gained a BA in 1756 and an MA in 1766....

    , 1786
    • Placuna ephippium
    • Placuna lobata
    • Placuna placenta
      Placuna placenta
      Placuna placenta, also known as capiz or windowpane oyster, is a bivalve marine mollusk in the family of Placunidae. Among the four species in the family, only the Placenta placenta has an outer shell translucent enough for commercial use.-Habitat:The distribution of the mollusk stretches from...

      Linnaeus, 1758
    • Placuna sella Gmelin
      Johann Friedrich Gmelin
      Johann Friedrich Gmelin was a German naturalist, botanist, entomologist, herpetologist and malacologist.- Education :Johann Friedrich Gmelin was born as the eldest son of Philipp Friedrich Gmelin in 1748 in Tübingen...

      , 1791
  • Placunanomia Broderip, 1842
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