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 CO2 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 (O2, CO2, and reduced inorganic compounds such as H2S). Together, these partners create "animals" with novel metabolic capabilities.
Genera and species The family Solemyidae includes two genera and the following species:
Acharax Dall, 1908 Acharax alinae Métivier & Cosel, 1993 Acharax bartschii (Dall, 1908) Acharax caribbaea (Vokes, 1970) Acharax clarificata Dell, 1995 Acharax gadirae Oliver, Rodrigues & Cunha, 2011 Acharax grandis (Verrill & Bush, 1898) Acharax japonica (Dunker, 1882) Acharax johnsoni (Dall, 1891) Acharax patagonica (E. A. Smith, 1885) Acharax prashadi (Vokes, 1955) Solemya Lamarck, 1818 Solemya africana Martens, 1880 Solemya atacama (Kuznetzov & Schileyko, 1984) Solemya australis Lamarck, 1818 Solemya borealis Totten, 1834 Solemya elarraichensis Oliver, Rodrigues & Cunha, 2011 Solemya flava Sato, Sasaki & Watanabe, 2013 Solemya moretonensis Taylor, Glover & Williams, 2008 Solemya notialis Simone, 2009 Solemya occidentalis Deshayes, 1857 Solemya panamensis Dall, 1908 Solemya parkinsonii E. A. Smith, 1874 Solemya pervernicosa (Kuroda, 1948) Solemya pusilla Gould, 1861 Solemya tagiri Okutani, Hashimoto & Miura, 2004 Solemya terraereginae Iredale, 1929 Solemya togata (Poli, 1791) Solemya valvulus Carpenter, 1864 Solemya velesiana Iredale, 1931 Solemya velum Say, 1822 Solemya winckworthi Prashad, 1932
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