Pterioidea
Pterioidea is a superfamily of epifaunal marine bivalves mostly inhabiting continental shelf regions of tropical and subtropical oceans. The superfamily includes the economically-important saltwater pearl oysters as well as the oddly shaped hammer oysters. A number of species have found use as model organisms in the fields of medicine and science.
It includes the following three accepted living families:
- Malleidae, the hammer oysters, Lamarck, 1818
- Pteriidae, the pearl oysters, tree oysters, and winged oysters, Gray, 1847
- Pulvinitidae, a family of rare deep sea oysters, no common name, Stephenson, 1941
Fossil families include:
- Family †Aviculopectinidae
- Family †Bakevelliidae
- Family †Cassianellidae
- Family †Isognomonidae
- Family †Kochiidae
- Family †Pergamidiidae
- Family †Plicatosylidae
- Family †Posidoniidae
- Family †Pterineidae
- Family †Retroceramidae
