Sphaeriidae

Sphaeriidae is a family of small to minute freshwater bivalve molluscs in the order Sphaeriida. In the US, they are commonly known as pea clams or fingernail clams.^[3][4]

Sphaeriidae
Four shells of Sphaerium corneum. Scale bar is in mm.
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Bivalvia
Order:	Sphaeriida
Superfamily:	Sphaerioidea
Family:	Sphaeriidae Deshayes, 1855 (1820)
Genera
See text
Synonyms
Cycladidae, Rafinesque 1820^[1]^[2]

Genera

Genera:^[5]

• Euperinae
  • Byssanodonta d'Orbigny, 1846
  • Eupera Bourguignat, 1854
• Sphaeriinae
  • Afropisidium Kuiper, 1962
  • Euglesa Jenyns, 1832
  • Musculium Link, 1807
  • Odhneripisidium Kuiper, 1962
  • Pisidium C. Pfeiffer, 1821
  • Sphaerium Scopoli, 1777
• fossils
  • †Megasphaerioides Komatsu, J.-H. Chen & Q.-F. Wang, 2003
  • †Protosphaerium Hocknull, 2000
  • †Sphaericoncha Kolesnikov, 1980

Biology and ecology

Sphaeriidae are hermaphrodites with internal fertilization. Developing young are incubated within their mother (ovoviviparity), and newborn clams look like miniature copies of the adults.^[4]

Parasites and/or predators include the Sciomyzidae.^[6]

References

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sphaeriidae.

 

Wikispecies has information related to Sphaeriidae.

1. Bowden, John & Heppell, David (1968). (PDF). Journal of Conchology. 26 (4): 237–272, note 55, pages 253–254. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 December 2014.
2. Baker, Horace Burrington (1964). "Notes on Sphaeriid Names". The Nautilus. 78 (2): 45–47.
3. Heard, William H. 1965. Comparative life histories of North American pill clams (Sphaeriidae: Pisidium). Malacologia, 2: 381-411.
4. Heard, William H. 1977. Reproduction of fingernail clams (Sphaeriidae: Sphaerium and Musculium). Malacologia, 16: 421-455.
5. "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Sphaeriidae Deshayes, 1855 (1820)". www.marinespecies.org. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
6. Biology of Snail-Killing Sciomyzidae Flies at Google Books