Plicatulidae is 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 bivalves, known commonly as kitten's paws or kittenpaws. They 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. It in monotypic

Monotypic

In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group with only one biological type. The term's usage differs slightly between botany and zoology. The term monotypic has a separate use in conservation biology, monotypic habitat, regarding species habitat conversion eliminating biodiversity and...

, having a single genus. There are seven species in this family.

Description

Plicatulidae species are small, with weakly convex shells which are irregularly oval

Oval

An oval is any curve resembling an egg or an ellipse, such as a Cassini oval. The term does not have a precise mathematical definition except in one area oval , but it may also refer to:* A sporting arena of oval shape** a cricket field...

 or even almost triangular. typically they attach themselves to a hard surface by the right valve. 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 triangular.

Taxonomy

• Plicatula Lamarck, 1801
  • Plicatula australis Lamarck, 1819
  • Plicatula chinensis Mörch, 1853
  • Plicatula complanata
  • Plicatula gibbosa
    Plicatula gibbosa
    Plicatula gibbosa, or the Atlantic kitten's paw, is a species of bivalve mollusc in the family Plicatulidae. It can be found along the Atlantic coast of North America, ranging from North Carolina to the West Indies....
    
    Lamarck, 1801 — Atlantic kitten's paw
  • Plicatula miskito Petuch, 1998
  • Plicatula muricata
  • Plicatula plicata Linnaeus, 1758