Corbicula is a genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of freshwater

Freshwater

Fresh water is naturally occurring water on the Earth's surface in ice sheets, ice caps, glaciers, bogs, ponds, lakes, rivers and streams, and underground as groundwater in aquifers and underground streams. Fresh water is generally characterized by having low concentrations of dissolved salts and...

 and brackish water clam

Clam

The word "clam" can be applied to freshwater mussels, and other freshwater bivalves, as well as marine bivalves.In the United States, "clam" can be used in several different ways: one, as a general term covering all bivalve molluscs...

s, aquatic

Aquatic animal

An aquatic animal is an animal, either vertebrate or invertebrate, which lives in water for most or all of its life. It may breathe air or extract its oxygen from that dissolved in water through specialised organs called gills, or directly through its skin. Natural environments and the animals that...

 bivalve mollusks in the family Corbiculidae

Corbiculidae

The Corbiculidae, common name "basket clams", are a family of aquatic bivalve molluscs in the order Veneroida.Clams in this family release many juveniles into the surrounding waters that have hatched inside the clams . Fertilization is internal...

, the basket clams.

The genus name is derived from Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 corbis "basket", referring to the shape and ribs of the shell.

The best known species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 in the genus is Corbicula fluminea

Corbicula fluminea

Corbicula fluminea is a species of freshwater clam, an aquatic bivalve mollusk in the family Corbiculidae.This species is of originally mainly Asian origin and thus it is often commonly called Asian clam or Asiatic clam. In the aquarium and koi pond trade it is often called Golden Clam or Golden...

, an invasive species in many areas of the world.

Species

Species within the genus Corbicula include:

• Corbicula africana (Krauss, 1848)
• Corbicula australis
• Corbicula fluminalis (O. F. Müller, 1774)
• Corbicula fluminea
  Corbicula fluminea
  Corbicula fluminea is a species of freshwater clam, an aquatic bivalve mollusk in the family Corbiculidae.This species is of originally mainly Asian origin and thus it is often commonly called Asian clam or Asiatic clam. In the aquarium and koi pond trade it is often called Golden Clam or Golden...
  
  (O. F. Müller,1774) - Asian clam
• Corbicula fluviatilis
  Corbicula fluviatilis
  Corbicula fluviatilis is a freshwater clam from family Corbiculidae.-External links:* *...
  
  
• Corbicula japonica Prime, 1864 http://www.fao.org/fi/website/FIRetrieveAction.do?dom=species&fid=3555
• Corbicula largillierti (Philippi, 1844)
• Corbicula leana (Prime, 1864)
• Corbicula linduensis Bollinger, 1914
• Corbicula loehensis Kruimel, 1913
• Corbicula madagascariensis Smith, 1882
• Corbicula matannensis Sarasin & Sarasin, 1898
• Corbicula moltkiana Prime, 1878
• Corbicula occidentalis Meek & Hayden, 1878
• Corbicula possoensis Sarasin & Sarasin, 1898
• Corbicula sandai Reinchardt, 1878

Further reading

• Alexei V. Korniushin, Matthias Glaubrecht (2003) Novel reproductive modes in freshwater clams: brooding and larval morphology in Southeast Asian taxa of Corbicula (Mollusca, Bivalvia, Corbiculidae) Acta Zoologica 84 (4), 293–315. http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1046/j.1463-6395.2003.00150.x