Short Razor Clam Shells of the Solecurtidae Family

One Short Razor Clam Shells of the Solecurtidae Family can be found in this website:

California Jackknife Clam Shell, Tagelus californianus. A representative of the Solecurtidae Family of Short Razor Clam Shells.

Phylogeny: Short Razor Clam Shells of the Solecurtidae Family are bivalve mollusks in the Cardiida order.  Shells in this order are limited to marine environments. The Cardiida order consists of two superfamilies – Cardioidea and Tellinoidea. The Solecurtidae Family is one of ten families in the Tellinoidea superfamily. The Solecurtidae Family is a medium-sized family, with no subfamilies, four genera, and fifty-three species. Shells in this family are also commonly called Solecurtids.

Description: Short Razor Clam Shells have a rectangular to elongated oval outline. They are much longer than they are high.  Most species are only slightly inflated. These shells gape at both ends. Short Razor Clam Shells resemble folded straight razors, from which they receive their common name. They tend to be thin in composition and are equivalve (both valves similar in size and shape). The majority have little or no external sculpture. What sculpting they may have is commarginal. The hinge is fairly weak. Most species have a thin periostracum. Short Razor Clams are small to medium-sized shells. The largest species in this family reach 10 cm (3.9 inches) in length.

Habitat and Distribution: Short Razor Clam Shells reside buried in sand or mud, sometimes digging burrows up to 50 cm (20 inches) deep. They are able to move, but seldom move great distances. They live in the intertidal zone, and to depths exceeding 200 m (656 feet). They are found worldwide in tropical to temperate seas. Six species from the Solecurtidae Family are found in Mexican waters.

Natural History: Short Razor Clam Shells are suspension and deposit feeders, feeding on plankton and detritus that drift by or that are deposited on the surface of the substrate. Short Razor Clams are preyed upon by shorebirds, crabs, fish, carnivorous mollusks and sea stars. They are gonochoric and reproduce sexually through broadcast spawning, with external fertilization. Short Razor Clams are edible. They are primarily harvested for food by subsistence fisheries or for fish bait by small scale commercial fisheries.