The Venus Clams of the Veneridae Family comprise the largest and most diverse of Pelecypoda or Bi-valve Families. Due to their beauty and graceful lines, these shells are named after the goddess Venus. Many shells in this family are colorful, ornate, or both. Venus Clams are equivalve (both valves equal in size and shape). They are generally oblong in shape and range from thin to robust. The external shell surface can be marked by radial ribs, concentric ridges, nodules, folds and even spines. Most shells in the family have three cardinal teeth, short siphons and a large foot. They may bury in sand, cling to hard substrate via a byssus (thread-like anchor lines), or even burrow within rocks or corals. The Venus Clams are suspension feeders, filtering suspended plankton and fine detritus from the surrounding waters. In turn they are preyed upon by crabs, marine mammals, carnivorous mollusks, rays, shore birds, and sea stars. The Venus Clams are found in all global oceans. There are over four hundred species in the Vereridae Family of which fifty-eight are found along the coastlines of the Baja Peninsula. All Venus Clams are edible and many are sold commercially.