
Bivalve | Definition, Characteristics, Species, Classification, & Facts ...
bivalve, (class Bivalvia), any of more than 15,000 species of clams, oysters, mussels, scallops, and other members of the phylum Mollusca characterized by a shell that is divided from front to back into left and right valves. The valves are connected to one another at a hinge.
Bivalve - Anatomy, Mollusk, Shells | Britannica
Bivalve - Anatomy, Mollusk, Shells: Bivalves have a symmetrical body that includes a mantle cavity, foot (where present), gills, anus, urogenital pores, and inhalant and exhalant chambers. They have paired labial palps in the mantle cavity that are used in feeding.
Bivalves - Types, Examples, Characteristics, Anatomy, Diet, & Habitat
May 31, 2024 · Bivalves are a group of freshwater and marine mollusks with bilaterally symmetric and laterally compressed bodies encased in a characteristic two-part shell. They belong to the class Bivalvia, a term coined by Linnaeus (1758) from two Latin words, bis (two) and valvae (leaves of a door).
Anatomy of a bivalve | Museum of Zoology - University of …
Bivalve molluscs come in many shapes and sizes, and live in many different ways. However, there are features shared by all bivalves. Bivalve molluscs are completely enclosed by a shell made of two valves hinged at the top.
Bivalve shell - Wikipedia
A bivalve shell is the enveloping exoskeleton or shell of a bivalve mollusc, composed of two hinged halves or valves. The two half-shells, called the "right valve" and "left valve", are joined by a ligament and usually articulate with one another using structures known as "teeth" which are situated along the hinge line .
Class Bivalvia: The Wonders of Bivalves | Earth Life
Aug 26, 2020 · Destructive Bivalves. Some species of bivalves are important agents in bioerosion, most notably by boring into calcium carbonate rocks and wood in the sea. Piddocks (family Pholadidae) bore into both concrete and wooden jetties weakening their structure.
Class Bivalvia - Digital Atlas of Ancient Life
Most bivalves have a large foot, which is a muscular and expandable structure in the middle of the mantle cavity. The foot primarily functions as a burrowing organ in infaunal species. It can also function as an escape organ for some epifaunal forms (e.g., …
Bivalve - Mollusks, Shells, Filter Feeders | Britannica
Bivalve - Mollusks, Shells, Filter Feeders: Paleontologists interpret bivalves based on shell and ligament structure, hinge teeth arrangement, and body form. Class Bivalvia has about 8,000 extant species divided into six subclasses: Palaeotaxodonta (Protobranchia), Cryptodonta, Pteriomorphia, Palaeoheterodonta, Heterodonta, and Anomalodesmata.
Shell Structures | Marine Bivalve Shells of the British Isles
The bivalve shell typically consists of two calcareous, convex valves that are hinged dorsally and free ventrally. The hinge margin is typically united by a non-calcified ligament and a set of articulating hinge teeth. The valves lie on the left and right sides of the animal.
Bivalve - Anatomy, History, Morphology, Characteristics and …
Bivalves are a large class of mollusc phylum and other aquatic invertebrates having a hinged double shell. Also, the bivalve in previous centuries was referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda.