Pterioidea

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Pterioidea
Plicatostylidae anatomy.png
Selection of members of the extinct Plicatostylidae family
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Bivalvia
Order: Pteriida
Superfamily: Pterioidea
Gray 1840 (1820)

Pterioidea is a superfamily of epifaunal marine bivalves mostly inhabiting continental shelf regions of tropical and subtropical oceans. The superfamily includes the economically-important saltwater pearl oysters as well as the oddly shaped hammer oysters (neither of which, however, is considered a true oyster). A number of species have found use as model organisms in the fields of medicine and science. [1]

It includes the following three accepted living families:

Fossil families include:

References

  1. Tëmkin, Ilya (2010). "Molecular phylogeny of pearl oysters and their relatives (mollusca, bivalvia, pterioidea)". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 10 (342): 1471–2148. Bibcode:2010BMCEE..10..342T. doi: 10.1186/1471-2148-10-342 . PMC   3271234 . PMID   21059254.