The Semelidae are a family of saltwater clams, marine bivalve molluscs in the order Cardiida.
Description Members of this family have rounded or oval, elongated shells, much flattened. The two valves are connected by an internal ligament in contrast to the closely related family Tellinidae where the ligament is external. The two separate siphons are very long, sometimes several times the length of the shell. These siphons have a characteristic cruciform muscle at their base.Barrett, J. H. and C. M. Yonge, 1958. Collins Pocket Guide to the Sea Shore. P. 160. Collins, London
Selected genera Genera of Semelidae (with some notable species also listed) include:ITIS Abra Lamarck, 1818 Abra aequalis (Say, 1822) Abra alba (Wood W., 1802) Abra californica Kundsen, 1970 Abra lioica (Dall, 1881) Abra longicallis Sacchi, 1836 Abra nitida (O. F. Mueller, 1776) Abra pacifica Dall, 1915 Abra prismatica Abra profundorum E. A. Smith, 1885 Abra tenuis (Montagu, 1818) Abra tepocana Dall, 1915 Argyrodonax Dall, 1911 Cumingia G. B. Sowerby I, 1833 Cumingia californica Conrad, 1837 Cumingia coarctata G. B. Sowerby I, 1833 Cumingia tellinoides (Conrad, 1831) Ervilia Turton, 1822 Ervilia bisculpta Gould, 1861 Ervilia castanea (Montagu, 1803) Ervilia concentrica (Holmes, 1860) Ervilia nitens (Montagu, 1808) Ervilia producta Odhner, 1922 Ervilia purpurea (Smith, 1906) Ervilia scaliola Iacra H. Adams & A. Adams, 1856 Leptomya A. Adams, 1864 Leptomya retiara aucklandica Powell Leptomya retiara retiara (Hutton, 1885) Leptomyaria Habe, 1960 Lonoa Dall, Bartsch & Rehder, 1938 Montrouzieria Souverbie, 1863 Rochefortina Dall, 1924 Scrobicularia Schumacher, 1815 Scrobicularia plana – Peppery furrow shell Semele Schumacher, 1817 Semele bellastriata (Conrad, 1837) Semele brambleyae (Powell, 1967) Semele decisa (Conrad, 1837) Semele incongrua Carpenter, 1864 Semele proficua (Pulteney, 1799) Semele pulchra (G. B. Sowerby I, 1832) Semele purpurascens (Gmelin, 1791) Semele rubicola Dall, 1915 Semele rubropicta Dall, 1871 Semele rupicola Dall, 1915 Semele venusta (Reeve, 1853) Semelina Dall, 1900 Semelina nuculoides (Conrad, 1841) †Septeuilia Cossmann, 1913 Souleyetia Récluz, 1869 Theora H. Adams and A. Adams, 1856 Theora lubrica Gould, 1861 Theora mesopotamica Annandale 1918 Thyellisca H. E. Vokes, 1956
References
Powell A. W. B., New Zealand Mollusca, William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 http://gni.globalnames.org/data_sources/30?page=1&search_term=ns%3AERV*