Margaritiferidae | |
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Separated valves of a shell of Margaritifera margaritifera | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Mollusca |
Class: | Bivalvia |
Subclass: | Palaeoheterodonta |
Order: | Unionoida |
Family: |
Margaritiferidae Haas, 1940 |
Genera | |
8, See text for genera. |
8, See text for genera.
Margaritiferidae is a family of medium-sized freshwater mussels, aquatic bivalve molluscs in the order Unionoida. They are known as freshwater pearl mussels, because the interior of the shell of these species has a thick layer of nacre or mother of pearl, and the mussels are thus capable of producing pearls.
Genera within the family Margaritiferidae include: