Rank Family Subclass Cryptodonta | Scientific name Solemyidae Higher classification Solemyoida Order Solemyoida | |
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Similar Solemya, Thyasiridae, Lucinidae, Nuculidae, Vesicomyidae | ||
Solemyidae is a family of saltwater clams, marine protobranch bivalve mollusks in the order Solemyoida.
Contents
Biology
Solemyids are remarkable in that their digestive tract is either extremely small or non-existent, and their feeding appendages are too short to reach outside the shell.
It has been shown that these clams host sulphur-oxidizing bacteria intracellularly within their gill filaments. As chemoautotrophs, these bacterial symbionts synthesize organic matter from CO2 and are the primary source of nutrition for the whole organism. In turn, the animal host provides its symbionts a habitat in which they have access to the substrates of chemoautotrophy (O2, CO2, and reduced inorganic compounds such as H2S). Together, these partners create "animals" with novel metabolic capabilities.
Genera and species
The family Solemyidae includes two genera and the following species: