Jewel Boxes of the Chamidae Family and known in Mexico as almeja-joyera. Jewel Boxes have thick shells with radiating scales that can grow to become spines. They are oyster-like, in that they are irregular in shape and they cement themselves to solid substrate for at least a portion of their lives. They are inequivalve (both valves unequal in size and shape). The lower valve is usually bigger and more deeply convex than the upper valve which is flatter, sometimes like a lid for the lower valve.

Jewel Boxes are suspension feeders, filtering suspended plankton from the surrounding water. In turn they are preyed upon by carnivorous mollusks and sea stars. The Jewel Boxes have a global distribution and are found in both temperate and tropical waters preferring clean waters. There are fifty species in the Chamidae Family of which thirteen are found along the coastlines of the Baja Peninsula.