Solemyidae

Solemyidae is a family of saltwater clams, marine protobranch bivalve mollusks in the order Solemyida.^[2]

Solemyidae
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Bivalvia
Order:	Solemyida
Superfamily:	Solemyoidea
Family:	Solemyidae J. E. Gray, 1840[1]
Genera
See text

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.^[3]

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.^[4][5] 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:

• Acharax Dall, 1908 ^[6]
  • Acharax alinae Métivier & Cosel, 1993
  • Acharax bartschii (Dall, 1908)
  • Acharax caribbaea (Vokes, 1970)
  • Acharax clarificata Dell, 1995
  • Acharax gadirae Oliver, Rodrigues & Cunha, 2011
  • Acharax grandis (Verrill & Bush, 1898)
  • Acharax japonica (Dunker, 1882)
  • Acharax johnsoni (Dall, 1891)
  • Acharax patagonica (E. A. Smith, 1885)
  • Acharax prashadi (Vokes, 1955)
• Solemya Lamarck, 1818 ^[7]
  • Solemya africana Martens, 1880
  • Solemya atacama (Kuznetzov & Schileyko, 1984)
  • Solemya australis Lamarck, 1818
  • Solemya borealis Totten, 1834
  • Solemya elarraichensis Oliver, Rodrigues & Cunha, 2011
  • Solemya flava Sato, Sasaki & Watanabe, 2013
  • Solemya moretonensis Taylor, Glover & Williams, 2008
  • Solemya notialis Simone, 2009
  • Solemya occidentalis Deshayes, 1857
  • Solemya panamensis Dall, 1908
  • Solemya parkinsonii E. A. Smith, 1874
  • Solemya pervernicosa (Kuroda, 1948)
  • Solemya pusilla Gould, 1861
  • Solemya tagiri Okutani, Hashimoto & Miura, 2004
  • Solemya terraereginae Iredale, 1929
  • Solemya togata (Poli, 1791)
  • Solemya valvulus Carpenter, 1864
  • Solemya velesiana Iredale, 1931
  • Solemya velum Say, 1822
  • Solemya winckworthi Prashad, 1932