Veneridae in the context of "Grooved carpet shell"

Meretrix lusoria, the hamaguri, Asian hard clam or common Orient clam, is a species of saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Veneridae, the Venus clams. This species is native to Asia, originally described around the waters of Japan. It is commercially exploited for sushi, and its shells are traditionally used to make white go stones.

The hamaguri clam is the subject of a haiku by Matsuo Bashō.

A siphon is an anatomical structure which is part of the body of aquatic molluscs in three classes: Gastropoda, Bivalvia and Cephalopoda (members of these classes include saltwater and freshwater snails, clams, octopus, squid and relatives).

Siphons in molluscs are tube-like structures in which water (or, more rarely, air) flows. The water flow is used for one or more purposes such as locomotion, feeding, respiration, and reproduction. The siphon is part of the mantle of the mollusc, and the water flow is directed to (or from) the mantle cavity.

A bivalve shell is the enveloping exoskeleton or shell of a bivalve mollusc, composed of two hinged halves or valves. The two half-shells, called the "right valve" and "left valve", are joined by a ligament and usually articulate with one another using structures known as "teeth" which are situated along the hinge line. In many bivalve shells, the two valves are symmetrical along the hinge line — when truly symmetrical, such an animal is said to be equivalved; if the valves vary from each other in size or shape, inequivalved. If symmetrical front-to-back, the valves are said to be equilateral, and are otherwise considered inequilateral.

The bivalve shell not only serves as protection from predators and physical damage, but also for adductor muscle attachment, which can allow the mollusc to "swim" short distances by flapping the valves. The shell is secreted by a soft part of the molluscan body known as the mantle and has several layers, typically made of calcium carbonate precipitated out into an organic matrix.

The Dreissenidae are a family of small freshwater aquatic bivalve molluscs, commonly called mussels although not at all closely related to true mussels. The shells of these bivalves are shaped somewhat like those of true mussels, which they also resemble in attaching themselves to a hard substrate such as stone using a byssus; however, this group is more closely related to the venus clams (Veneridae).