Veneridae
Encyclopedia
The Veneridae or venerids, also known as the Venus
Venus (mythology)
Venus is a Roman goddess principally associated with love, beauty, sex,sexual seduction and fertility, who played a key role in many Roman religious festivals and myths...

 clams
, are a very large family of minute to large, saltwater clams
CLaMS
CLaMS is a modular chemistry transport model system developed at Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany. CLaMS was first described by McKenna et al. and was expanded into three dimensions by Konopka et al....

, marine bivalve molluscs
Mollusca
The Mollusca , common name molluscs or mollusksSpelled mollusks in the USA, see reasons given in Rosenberg's ; for the spelling mollusc see the reasons given by , is a large phylum of invertebrate animals. There are around 85,000 recognized extant species of molluscs. Mollusca is the largest...

. There are over 500 living species of venerid bivalves, most of which are edible, and many of which are exploited as a food source.

Many of the most important edible species are commonly known (in the USA) simply as "clams". Venerids make up a significant proportion of the world fishery of edible bivalves. The family includes some species that are important commercially, such as (in the USA) the hard clam
Hard clam
The hard clam , also known as a quahog , round clam, or hard-shell clam, is an edible marine bivalve mollusk which is native to the eastern shores of North America, from Prince Edward Island to the Yucatán Peninsula...

 or quahog, Mercenaria mercenaria.

Classification

The classification within the family Veneridae has been controversial at least since the 1930s. The most used classification is that of Keen (1969) which recognises 12 subfamilies, listed below. Some common species have been moved between genera (including genera in different subfamilies) because of repeated attempts to bring a more valid organization to the classification or taxonomy
Taxonomy
Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...

 of the family, therefore changes in the generic name of species are frequently encountered.

The characters used for classifying this group still tend to be superficial, focusing on external features, especially those of the shell. Venerid clams are characterized as bivalves with an external posterior ligament, usually a well demarcated anterior area known as the lunule, and three interlocking structures (called cardinal teeth) in the top of each valve; in several of the subfamilies there are also anterior lateral teeth, anterior to the cardinal teeth: one in the left valve, and two (sometimes obscure) in the right valve. The inner lower peripheries of the valves can be finely toothed or smooth.

Description

Shell sculpture tends to be primarily concentric, but radial and divaricating ornamentation (see Gafrarium), and rarely spines (Pitar lupanaria for example) occur on some. One small subfamily, Samarangiinae, is created for a unique and rare clam found in coral reefs with an outer covering of cemented sand or mud that texturally camouflages it while enhancing the thickness of the shell. Several Venerid clams have overall shell shapes that are adapted to their environment. Tivela
Tivela
Tivela is a genus of saltwater clams in the family Veneridae.-Species:According to the World Register of Marine Species the following species are included in the genus Tivela * Tivela abaconis Dall, 1902* Tivela bicolor Gray...

species, for example, have the triangular outline of the surf clams in other bivalve families, and occur often in surf zones. Some Dosinia
Dosinia
Dosinia is a genus of marine bivalve molluscs, in the family Veneridae . Dosinia species are almost disc-like in shape and reminiscent of Lucinid bivalves.- Species :* Dosinia abyssicola T. Habe, 1961 Indo...

species are almost disc-like in shape and reminiscent of Lucinid bivalves; both types of circular bivalves tend to burrow relatively deeply into the sediment. Further reclassification is to be expected as the results of current research in molecular systematics on the group appear in the literature.

Venerids have rounded or oval solid shells with the umbones (projections) inturned towards the anterior end. There are three or four cardinal teeth on each valve. The siphons are short and united, except at the tip, and are not very long. The foot is large.

Subfamilies according to Keen (1969)

  • Chioninae
  • Circinae
  • Clementinae
  • Cyclinae
  • Dosiniinae
  • Gemminae
  • Meretricinae
  • Pitarinae
  • Samaranginae
  • Sunettinae
  • Tapetinae
  • Venerinae

List of genera in the family Veneridae

(may be incomplete)
  • Agriopoma
    Agriopoma
    Agriopoma is a genus of molluscs in the family Veneridae....

    Dall
    W. H. Dall
    William Healey Dall was an American naturalist, a prominent malacologist, and one of the earliest scientific explorers of interior Alaska...

    , 1902
  • Amiantis Carpenter
    Phillip Pearsall Carpenter
    Philip Pearsall Carpenter Rev. Dr. , who in 1841, was ordained Presbyterian minister in England, and a Doctorate of Philosophy in 1860, and whose field work as a malacologist or conchologist in North America is still well regarded today...

    , 1884
  • Anomalocardia Schumacher, 1817
  • Austrovenus
    Austrovenus
    Austrovenus is a genus of marine bivalve molluscs, in the family Veneridae, which are native to New Zealand.- Species in the genus Austrovenus:* Austrovenus aucklandica Powell, 1932 - Auckland Islands cockle...

    Finlay,1927
  • Bassina
    Bassina
    Bassina is a genus of bivalve molluscs in the family Veneridae.-Species:* Bassina disjecta* Bassina foliacea * Bassina jacksoni * Bassina pachyphylla* Bassina yatei -References:*...

    Jukes-Browne
    Alfred John Jukes-Browne
    Alfred John Jukes-Browne, FRS FGS was a British invertebrate palaeontologist and stratigrapher.He was born Alfred John Browne near Wolverhampton in 1851 to Alfred Hall and Caroline Amelia Browne. His uncle was the geologist Joseph Beete Jukes, well known for his work on the English and Irish...

    , 1914
  • Callista Poli, 1791
  • Chamelea
    Chamelea
    Chamelea is a genus of small saltwater clams, marine bivalve molluscs in the family Veneridae, the venus clams.- Species :Species within the genus Chamelea include:* Chamelea gallina * Chamelea striatula...

    Mörch
    Otto Andreas Lowson Mörch
    Otto Andreas Lowson Mörch was a biologist, specifically a malacologist. He lived in Sweden, in Denmark, and in France.- Taxa described :Bibliography and taxa described by Otto Andreas Lowson Mörch include:...

    , 1853
  • Chione
    Chione (genus)
    Chione is a genus of tropical American marine bivalve molluscs, in the family Veneridae.-Species:* Chione amathusia * Chione californiensis W. J. Broderip, 1835 - California venus, Banded venus...

    Megerle von Mühlfeld
    Johann Carl Megerle von Mühlfeld
    Johann Carl Megerle von Mühlfeld was a scientist and zoologist who lived from 1765 to 1840.He worked at the Vienna natural history museum, the Naturhistorisches Museum, Wien, until he retired at the end of 1835.....

    , 1811
  • Chionopsis Olsson, 1932
  • Chionista Keen, 1958
  • Circomphalus Klein, 1853
  • Clausinella J. E. Gray, 1851
  • Compsomyax Stewart, 1930
  • Cyclinella Dall
    W. H. Dall
    William Healey Dall was an American naturalist, a prominent malacologist, and one of the earliest scientific explorers of interior Alaska...

    , 1902
  • Dosina
    Dosina
    Dosina is a genus of marine bivalve molluscs, in the family Veneridae.-Species in the genus Dosina:* Dosina zelandica crebra * Dosina zelandica zelandica Gray, 1835-References:...

    Gray, 1835
  • Dosinia
    Dosinia
    Dosinia is a genus of marine bivalve molluscs, in the family Veneridae . Dosinia species are almost disc-like in shape and reminiscent of Lucinid bivalves.- Species :* Dosinia abyssicola T. Habe, 1961 Indo...

    Scopoli
    Giovanni Antonio Scopoli
    Giovanni Antonio Scopoli was an Italian physician and naturalist.-Biography:...

    , 1777
  • Gafrarium Röding
    Peter Friedrich Röding
    Peter Friedrich Röding was a German malacologist who lived in Hamburg. Very little is known about this naturalist.Many of Röding's descriptions are of species which were first named by earlier authors such as Johann Hieronymus Chemnitz, Friedrich Wilhelm Martini and Martin Lister...

    , 1798
  • Gemma
    Amethyst gem clam
    The amethyst gem clam, Gemma gemma, is a small species of marine bivalve mollusk. It is a member of the family Veneridae, the Venus clams.It is one of the smaller species of marine clam, reaching a length of only 5 mm...

    Deshayes
    Gérard Paul Deshayes
    Gérard Paul Deshayes was a French geologist and conchologist.He was born in Nancy, his father at that time being professor of experimental physics in the École Centrale of the Meurthe département....

    , 1853
  • Globivenus Coen, 1934
  • Gouldia C. B. Adams, 1847
  • Humilaria Grant
    Ulysses S. Grant IV
    Ulysses S. Grant IV , was the son of Ulysses S. Grant, Jr. and the grandson of General of the Army and President of the United States Ulysses S. Grant. He was an American geologist and paleontologist known for his work on the fossil mollusks of the California Pacific Coast...

     and Gale, 1931
  • Irus
    Irus (genus)
    Irus is a genus of saltwater clams, marine bivalve molluscs in the family Veneridae, the venus clams.-Species in the genus Irus:* Irus carditoides* Irus crebrelamellatus* Irus crenata* Irus crenatus* Irus cumingii...

    Schmidt, 1818
  • Irusella Hertlein
    Leo George Hertlein
    Leo George Hertlein was an American paleontologist and malacologist who studied the Recent and fossil mollusks of the eastern Pacific Ocean.Hertlein was born on a farm in Pratt County, Kansas...

     and Grant
    Ulysses S. Grant IV
    Ulysses S. Grant IV , was the son of Ulysses S. Grant, Jr. and the grandson of General of the Army and President of the United States Ulysses S. Grant. He was an American geologist and paleontologist known for his work on the fossil mollusks of the California Pacific Coast...

    , 1972
  • Lioconcha
    Lioconcha
    Lioconcha is a genus of molluscs in the family Veneridae.-Species:* Lioconcha annettae Lamprell & Whitehead, 1990* Lioconcha arabaya Van der Meij, Moolenbeek & Dekker, 2011* Lioconcha berthaulti Lamprell & Healy, 2002...

    Morch, 1853

  • Liocyma
    Liocyma
    Liocyma is a genus of molluscs in the family Veneridae....

    Dall
    W. H. Dall
    William Healey Dall was an American naturalist, a prominent malacologist, and one of the earliest scientific explorers of interior Alaska...

    , 1870
  • Lirophora Conrad
    Timothy Abbott Conrad
    Timothy Abbott Conrad was an American geologist, malacologist and carcinologist.- External links :* at Internet Archive...

    , 1883
  • Macrocallista
    Macrocallista
    Macrocallista is a genus of molluscs in the family Veneridae.-Species:* Macrocallista maculata — calico clam* Macrocallista nimbosa — sunray venus clam...

    Meek
    Fielding Bradford Meek
    Fielding Bradford Meek was an American geologist and paleontologist.The son of a lawyer, he was born in Madison, Indiana. In early life he was in business as a merchant, but his leisure hours were devoted to collecting fossils and studying the rocks of the neighborhood of Madison...

    , 1876
  • Marcia H. Adams & A. Adams, 1857
  • Mercenaria
    Mercenaria
    Mercenaria is a genus of edible saltwater clams, marine bivalve molluscs in the family Veneridae, the Venus clams.The genus Mercenaria includes the quahogs, Mercenaria mercenaria, the northern quahog or hard clam, and M. campechiensis, the southern quahog...

    Schumacher, 1817
  • Meretrix Linnaeus, 1758
  • Notirus
    Notirus
    Notirus is a genus of marine bivalve molluscs, in the family Veneridae.- Species in the genus Notirus:* Notirus macrophyllus* Notirus reflexus - References :...

    Finlay
    Harold John Finlay
    Harold John Finlay was a New Zealand palaeontologist and conchologist. He was born in Comilla, India , on 22 March 1901....

    , 1928
  • Notocallista
    Notocallista
    Notocallista is a genus of marine bivalve molluscs, in the family Veneridae.- Species in the genus Notocallista:* Notocallista chione* Notocallista kingii* Notocallista multistriata * Notocallista virginea...

    Iredale
    Tom Iredale
    Tom Iredale was an English-born ornithologist and malacologist who had a long association with Australia, where he lived for most of his life. He was an autodidact who never went to university and lacked formal training...

    , 1924
  • Nutricola Bernard, 1982
  • Paphia Born
    Born
    Born may refer to:* Childbirth* Born , a limited series comic book featuring the Punisher* Born Feinkost GmbH, a German food company* Born , a lunar crater-Places:* Born, Netherlands, a town in the Netherlands...

    , 1778
  • Parastarte
    Parastarte
    Parastarte is a genus of molluscs in the family Veneridae....

    Conrad
    Timothy Abbott Conrad
    Timothy Abbott Conrad was an American geologist, malacologist and carcinologist.- External links :* at Internet Archive...

    , 1862
  • Periglypta
    Periglypta
    Periglypta is a genus of molluscs in the family Veneridae....

    Jukes-Browne
    Alfred John Jukes-Browne
    Alfred John Jukes-Browne, FRS FGS was a British invertebrate palaeontologist and stratigrapher.He was born Alfred John Browne near Wolverhampton in 1851 to Alfred Hall and Caroline Amelia Browne. His uncle was the geologist Joseph Beete Jukes, well known for his work on the English and Irish...

    , 1914
  • Pitar
    Pitar (genus)
    Pitar is a genus of molluscs in the family Veneridae.-Species:* Pitar albidus — white venus clam* Pitar circinatus — purple venus clam* Pitar cordatus — cordate venus clam...

    Römer, 1857
  • Protothaca
    Protothaca
    Protothaca is a genus of bivalve mollusks in the family Veneridae. This genus of mollusca has been exploited by humans since prehistory; for example, Chumash peoples of California harvested this genus from Morro Bay in approximately 1000 AD.-References:...

    Dall
    W. H. Dall
    William Healey Dall was an American naturalist, a prominent malacologist, and one of the earliest scientific explorers of interior Alaska...

    , 1902
  • Psephidia Dall
    W. H. Dall
    William Healey Dall was an American naturalist, a prominent malacologist, and one of the earliest scientific explorers of interior Alaska...

    , 1902
  • Ruditapes
    Ruditapes
    Ruditapes is a genus of marine bivalve molluscs, in the family Veneridae.- Species :* Ruditapes aureus* Ruditapes bruguieri* Ruditapes decussata* Ruditapes decussatus* Ruditapes japonica* Ruditapes largillierti...

  • Saxidomus
    Saxidomus
    Saxidomus, common name "Washington clams", is a genus of large edible saltwater clams, marine bivalve mollusks in the family Veneridae, the venus clams.The species Saxidomus giganteus is known as the "butter clam"....

    Conrad
    Timothy Abbott Conrad
    Timothy Abbott Conrad was an American geologist, malacologist and carcinologist.- External links :* at Internet Archive...

    , 1837
  • Sunetta Link, 1807
  • Tapes Muhlfeld, 1811
  • Tawera Marwick, 1927
  • Timoclea Brown, 1827
  • Tivela
    Tivela
    Tivela is a genus of saltwater clams in the family Veneridae.-Species:According to the World Register of Marine Species the following species are included in the genus Tivela * Tivela abaconis Dall, 1902* Tivela bicolor Gray...

    Link, 1807
  • Transennella Dall
    W. H. Dall
    William Healey Dall was an American naturalist, a prominent malacologist, and one of the earliest scientific explorers of interior Alaska...

    , 1883
  • Venerupis
    Venerupis
    Venerupis is a genus of marine bivalve molluscs in the family Veneridae, commonly known as carpet shells. The valves are robust and rhomboidal with the umbones turned-in and nearer the anterior end. The posterior end is wedge-shaped and the internal margins of the valves are smooth. There are 3 or...

    Lamarck, 1818
  • Ventricolaria
    Ventricolaria
    Ventricolaria is a genus of molluscs in the family Veneridae.-Species:* Ventricolaria rigida — rigid venus* Ventricolaria rugatina — queen venus...

    Keen, 1954
  • Venus
    Venus (genus)
    Venus is a genus of small to large saltwater clams in the family Veneridae, which is sometimes known as the Venus clams and their relatives. These are marine bivalve molluscs....

    Linnaeus, 1758


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK