Plicatulidae

The Plicatulidae are a family of saltwater clams, marine bivalve mollusks, known commonly as kitten's paws or kittenpaws.^[1] These bivalves are related to oysters and scallops. The family has a single living genus, Plicatula, with a second, Harpax known from fossils.

Plicatulidae
Members of the species Plicatula gibbosa, including both modern (right) and fossil (left) specimens
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Bivalvia
Order:	Pectinida
Superfamily:	Plicatuloidea
Family:	Plicatulidae Watson, 1930
Genera
See text

Description

Plicatulidae are small, with weakly convex shells which are irregularly oval or even almost triangular. Typically, they attach themselves to a hard surface by the right valve. The ligament is internal and triangular.

Life cycle

Plicatulidae members start off in the larval stage.

Genera and species

All taxa marked † are extinct.

• Harpax Parkinson, 1811
• Plicatula Lamarck, 1801
• † Pseudoplacunopsis Bittner, 1895
• Plicastulostrea onca: synonym of Plicatula australis Lamarck, 1819 (type by original designation); a species from Thailand

Synonyms

• Plicatulostrea Simone & Amaral, 2008: synonym of Plicatula Lamarck, 1801
• Spiniplicata [sic]: synonym of Spiniplicatula Habe, 1977: synonym of Plicatula Lamarck, 1801 (misspelling)
• Spiniplicatula Habe, 1977: synonym of Plicatula Lamarck, 1801