Sphaeriidae
| Sphaeriidae | |
|---|---|
| Four shells of Sphaerium corneum. Scale bar is in mm. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Bivalvia |
| Order: | Sphaeriida |
| Superfamily: | Sphaerioidea |
| Family: | Sphaeriidae Deshayes, 1855 (1820) |
| Genera | |
|
See text | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Cycladidae, Rafinesque 1820 | |
Sphaeriidae is a family of small to minute freshwater bivalve molluscs in the order Sphaeriida. In the US, they are commonly known as pea clams or fingernail clams.
The Sphaeriidae is actually an important group of freshwater invertebrates, seeing as they play a huge role in the energy flow and the nutrient cycling within aquatic ecosystems, in which they constitute a food item for organisms of higher trophic levels and even contribute to the bioturbation of sediments which can help create a physical resource for many other species that utilize the shells.