Bivalvia, in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of marine and freshwater molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hinged parts. Bivalves as a group have no head and they lack some usual molluscan organs like the radula and the odontophore. They include the clams, oysters, cockles, mussels, scallops, and numerous other families that live in saltwater, as well as a number of families that live in freshwater. The majority are filter feeders. The gills have evolved into ctenidia, specialised organs for feeding and breathing. Most bivalves bury themselves in sediment where they are relatively safe from predation. Others lie on the sea floor or attach themselves to rocks or other hard surfaces. Some bivalves, such as the scallops and file shells, can swim. The shipworms bore into wood, clay, or stone and live inside these substances.
Shark Bay is a World Heritage Site in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia. The 23,000-square-kilometre (8,900 sq mi) area is located approximately 800 kilometres (500 mi) north of Perth, on the westernmost point of the Australian continent. UNESCO's official listing of Shark Bay as a World Heritage Site reads:
A cockle is an edible, marine bivalve mollusc. Although many small edible bivalves are loosely called cockles, true cockles are species in the family Cardiidae. True cockles live in sandy, sheltered beaches throughout the world. The distinctive rounded shells are bilaterally symmetrical, and are heart-shaped when viewed from the end. Numerous radial, evenly spaced ribs are a feature of the shell in most but not all genera.
Coquina is a sedimentary rock that is composed either wholly or almost entirely of the transported, abraded, and mechanically-sorted fragments of the shells of molluscs, trilobites, brachiopods, or other invertebrates. The term coquina comes from the Spanish word for "cockle" and "shellfish".
The giant clams are the members of the clam genus Tridacna that are the largest living bivalve mollusks. There are actually several species of "giant clams" in the genus Tridacna, which are often misidentified for Tridacna gigas, the most commonly intended species referred to as “the giant clam”.
Donax is a genus of small, edible saltwater clams, marine bivalve molluscs. The genus is sometimes known as bean clams or wedge shells; however, Donax species have numerous different common names in different parts of the world. In the southeastern US they are known as "coquina", a word that is also used for the hard limestone concretions of their shells and those of other marine organisms.
The maxima clam, also known as the small giant clam, is a species of bivalve mollusc found throughout the Indo-Pacific region. They are much sought after in the aquarium trade, as their often striking coloration mimics that of the true giant clam; however, the maximas maintain a manageable size, with the shells of large specimens typically not exceeding 20 centimetres (7.9 in) in length.
Tridacna derasa, the southern giant clam or smooth giant clam, is a species of extremely large marine clam in the family Cardiidae.
Shell Beach is a beach in the Shark Bay region of Western Australia, located 45 km (28 mi) south-east of Denham.
Tridacninae, common name, the giant clams, is a taxonomic subfamily of very large saltwater clams, marine bivalve molluscs in the family Cardiidae, the cockles.
Donax variabilis, known by the common name coquina, is a species of small edible saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Donacidae, the bean clams. It is a warm water species which occurs in shallow water on sandy beaches.
Corculum cardissa, the heart cockle, is a species of marine bivalve mollusc in the family Cardiidae. It is found in the Indo-Pacific region. It has a symbiotic relationship with dinoflagellates (zooxanthellae), which live within its tissues.
Fragum is a genus of cockles, marine bivalve molluscs in the family Cardiidae. Members of the genus have characteristic thick, sculptured shells and live buried in sand, extending their siphons to the surface to feed and breathe. They are found in the Indo-Pacific region and the Red Sea.
Fragum unedo is a species of cockle, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Cardiidae, commonly known as the Pacific strawberry cockle. It is found in tropical seas in the Indo-Pacific region and the empty shells are prized for use in decorative crafts.
Cerastoderma glaucum, the lagoon cockle, is a species of saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Cardiidae, the cockles.
Dinocardium is a genus of large saltwater clams or cockles, marine bivalve molluscs in the family Cardiidae, the cockles. There is only one species in the genus, Dinocardium robustum, or the Atlantic giant cockle.
Fragum fragum is a species of cockle, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Cardiidae. It is commonly known as the white strawberry cockle and is found in the western Indo-Pacific Ocean. It is the type species of the genus Fragum.
Cassiopea xamachana, commonly known as the upside-down jellyfish, is a species of jellyfish in the family Cassiopeidae. It is found in warm parts of the western Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. It was first described by the American marine biologist Henry Bryant Bigelow in 1892.
Acanthocardia echinata, the prickly cockle or European prickly cockle, is a species of saltwater clams, marine bivalve molluscs in the family Cardiidae. The genus Acanthocardia is present from the Upper Oligocene to the Recent.
Fragum nivale is a species of cockle in the family Cardiidae, that lives in the Western Indian Ocean, in benthic environments. It has a body length of 1.2 cm, and the embryos are developed into a swimming trocophore larvae, that resemble an immature clam.
