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Solemyidae

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

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.

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 CO<sub>2</sub> and are the primary source of nutrition for the whole organism. In turn, the animal host provides its symbionts a habitat in which they have access to the substrates of chemoautotrophy (O<sub>2</sub>, CO<sub>2</sub>, and reduced inorganic compounds such as H<sub>2</sub>S). Together, these partners create "animals" with novel metabolic capabilities.

Genera and species

The family Solemyidae includes two genera and the following species:

References