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Family Limidae - file shells
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Bivalvia |
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No. of Genera in Ref. |
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Environment |
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Fresh : No |
Brackish : No |
Marine : Yes |
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Remark |
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Shell equivalve, higher than long, inequilateral, extended obliquely in an anteroventral direction. Dorsal margin with 2 small ears. Trigonal cardinal area with a median ligamental groove. Hinge toothless. A single adductor muscle scar. Pallial line without a sinus. The Limidae are either attached by a byssus or are free-living animals depending on the species. They occur in shallow to deep-water habitats, mostly sheltered in rock crevices, under stones and among marine growths, but also in soft substrates, more or less buried or lying on the surface. Some species can build a nest lined with mingled byssal threads. When disturbed, many are capable of swimming by flapping the valves together, expelling jets of water from either side of the hinge, with the commissural plane vertically directed and the pallial tentacles widely spread. To distract a predator, the animal can shed wriggling tentacles. Minor importance to fisheries in most areas. Large specimens of the genus Acesta are occasionally caught offshore in prawn trawl nets (Ref. 348). |
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