Bivalvia

Bivalvia is a class of mollusks whose bodies are enclosed by two shells joined at a hinge. Clams, oysters, mussels, and scallops are bivalves.

Mollusca: Mollusca is a large animal phylum that includes snails, cephalopods, and bivalves. Bivalvia is one of the major classes within this phylum.
Filter feeding: Filter feeding extracts suspended food particles from water passed through a filtering structure. Most bivalves use their gills to capture particles carried by water.
Oyster reef: An oyster reef is a dense aggregation of oysters that forms structured habitat in coastal waters. Reef-building oysters turn individual shells into habitat for many other species.
Clam: A clam is a common name for various bivalves, especially burrowing species with rounded shells. Clams exemplify the burrowing lifestyle supported by a muscular foot and siphons.
Bivalve shell: A bivalve shell consists of two calcareous valves joined by a hinge and secreted by the mantle. Its paired valves define the class and protect the soft body.
Ligament (mollusk): A molluscan shell ligament is an elastic structure that connects shell valves and tends to open them. It works against the adductor muscles that close the bivalve shell.
Mussel aquaculture: Mussel aquaculture is the cultivation of mussels for food, often on ropes or suspended structures. Mussels are farmed efficiently because they feed by filtering naturally occurring particles.
Oyster: An oyster is a bivalve, typically irregular in shape, that often attaches to hard surfaces. Oysters show how some bivalves cement one valve to a substrate and build reefs.
Bivalve mantle: The mantle is a tissue layer that lines the shell and secretes its material. Mantle tissue forms the valves and often produces the shell's inner layer.
Adductor muscle: An adductor muscle draws paired body parts together; in bivalves it closes the shell valves. These muscles let bivalves clamp their valves shut against predators or drying.

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