Plicatulidae

The Plicatulidae are a family of saltwater clams, marine bivalve mollusks, known commonly as kitten's paws or kittenpaws.[1] These bivalves are related to oysters and scallops. The family has a single living genus, Plicatula, with a second, Harpax known from fossils.

Plicatulidae
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Bivalvia
Order:	Pectinida
Superfamily:	Plicatuloidea
Family:	Plicatulidae Watson, 1930
Genera
See tex

Description

Plicatulidae are small, with weakly convex shells which are irregularly oval or even almost triangular. Typically, they attach themselves to a hard surface by the right valve. The ligament is internal and triangular.

Genus and species

• Harpax Parkinson, 1811
• Plicatula Lamarck, 1801
  • Plicatula australis Lamarck, 1819
  • Plicatula chinensis Mörch, 1853
  • Plicatula complanata
  • Plicatula gibbosa Lamarck, 1801 — Atlantic kitten's paw
  • Plicatula miskito Petuch, 1998
  • Plicatula muricata
  • Plicatula plicata Linnaeus, 1758

References

1. Abbott, R.T. & Morris, P.A. A Field Guide to Shells: Atlantic and Gulf Coasts and the West Indies. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1995. 34.