Malleus (bivalve)

Malleus is a genus of hammer oysters (marine bivalve mollusks) in the family Malleidae. This genus includes 27 known species.

Characteristic of this genus is the unusual "hammer-shaped" outline of the valves. The shells are nearly equivalved, but the hinge line is extremely long and is at nearly a right angle to the rest of the valves, which grow ventrally. The viscera of the organism are arranged in an oval-shaped patch near the umbones of the valves.

Species

 * Malleus albus Lamarck, 1819
 * Malleus anatinus (Gmelin, 1791)
 * Malleus candeanus (d'Orbigny, 1853)
 * Malleus daemoniacus Reeve, 1858
 * Malleus legumen Reeve, 1858
 * Malleus malleus (Linnaeus, 1758)
 * Malleus meridianus Cotton, 1930
 * Malleus regula (Forsskål in Niebuhr, 1775)