Venus Clam Shells of the Veneridae Family

Twenty-seven Venus Clam Shells of the Veneridae Family can be found in this website:

Phylogeny: Venus Clam Shells of the Veneridae Family are bivalve mollusks in the order Venerida. The superfamily Verneroidea is one of eight superfamilies in this order. The superfamily Veneroidea consists of two families- Neoleptonidae and Veneridae. The Veneridae Family is very large. It is comprised of thirteen subfamilies, one hundred nine genera, and around seven hundred sixty-eight species. Shells in this family are also commonly called Venerids.

Description: Venus Clam Shells comprise the largest and most diverse of the Pelecypoda (bivalve) families. Due to their beauty and graceful lines, these shells are named after the goddess Venus. Many shells in this family are colorful, ornate, or both. Venus Clams are usually equivalve (both valves equal in size and shape). They are generally circular, ovate, or trigonal in outline and somewhat flattened to inflated in profile. They range from thin to robust in structure. The valves usually meet together without gaping. The external shell surface can be marked by radial ribs, commarginal ridges, nodules, folds and even spines. The interior is usually smooth and porcelaneous but may reflect the exterior sculpting toward the margin. Most shells in the family have three cardinal teeth at the hinge. Venus Clam Shells are not usually brightly colored but many display attractive color patterns.  The periostracum is usually inconspicuous. The largest species in this family reach around 17 cm (6.6 inches in length).

Habitat and Distribution: Venus Clam Shells may bury in sand, mud or fine gravel. They may also cling to hard substrates via a byssus (thread-like anchor lines), nestle in cracks in hard substrates, or even burrow within rocks or corals. They live intertidally, and at depths up to 800 m (2,624 feet). Venus Clam Shells are found worldwide in temperate to tropical seas. At least seventy species from this family are found in Mexican waters. 

Natural History: Venus Clams are suspension feeders, filtering suspended plankton and fine detritus from the surrounding waters. In turn they are preyed upon by crabs, marine mammals, carnivorous mollusks, rays, crabs, shorebirds, and sea stars. Venus Clam are gonochoric and reproduce through broadcast spawning. They are edible and harvested and farmed in large scale commercial fisheries.