Meretrix (bivalve)

Meretrix is a genus of edible saltwater clams, marine bivalve molluscs in the family Veneridae, the Venus clams. They appeared in the fossil record in the Cenomanian age.

Meretrix Temporal range: Cenomanian–Present ~94.3–0 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Meretrix lyrata (Sowerby, 1851) for sale as food in a market in Haikou City, Hainan Province, China
A whole shell of Meretrix lyrata showing both the outside and the inside
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Bivalvia
Order:	Venerida
Superfamily:	Veneroidea
Family:	Veneridae
Genus:	Meretrix Lamarck 1799
Type species
Meretrix lyrata Sowerby 1851
Species
See text
Synonyms
Cytheraea (Meretrix) Lamarck 1805 Cytherea (Meretrix) Lamarck 1805

Species

Species in the genus Meretrix include:^[1]

• Meretrix lamarckii^[2]
• Meretrix meretrix^[3][4]
• Meretrix lusoria^[4]
• Meretrix lyrata^[4]
• Meretrix taiwanica^[5]
• †Meretrix chalcedonica, early Danian Lefipán Formation, Cañadón Asfalto Basin, Argentina^[6]
• †Meretrix dalli, Paleocene Martinez Formation of California
• †Meretrix faba, Cenomanian Khatiyah Formation of the United Arab Emirates^[7]
• †Meretrix hikoshimensis, Oligocene Ashiya Group of Japan
• †Meretrix hornii, Paleocene to Eocene California
• †Meretrix indica, Paleocene Hangu Shales of Pakistan
• †Meretrix negritosensis, Miocene Zorritos Formation of Peru
• †Meretrix nuttalliopsis, Eocene Boca de Serpiente Formation of Trinidad and Tobago
• †Meretrix persica, Miocene of Iran and India
• †Meretrix shantii, Eocene Umm al-Rua'us Formation of Saudi Arabia
• †Meretrix stantoni, Paleocene California
• †Meretrix subimpressa, Eocene Trinidad and Tobago and Maryland
• †Meretrix uvasana, Paleocene to Eocene California