Pinnidae

Taxobox
name = Pinnidae


image_caption = "Pinna nobilis" shell and byssus
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Mollusca
classis = Bivalvia
ordo = Pterioida
familia = Pinnidae
familia_authority = Leach, 1819
subdivision_ranks = Genera
subdivision = See text.

Pinnidae is a family of large saltwater clams sometimes known as pen shells. They are marine bivalve molluscs in the order Pterioida.

The shells are fragile and have a long and triangular shape, and in life they are anchored in sediment using a byssus. The shells have a thin inner layer of nacre in the part of the shell which is near the umbos (the pointed end.)

The family Pinnidae includes the fan shell, "Atrina fragilis", and "Pinna nobilis", the source of sea silk.

Genera

* "Pinna"
* "Atrina"

References

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