spondylidæ

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. A family of marine bivalves, related to the Limidæ and to the scallops, typified by the genus Spondylus; the thorn-oysters. The valves are dissimilar, the right one being the larger, and attached at the beak, the left generally flat or concave; the ligament is internal. About 70 species are known, inhabiting chiefly tropical seas. The extinct species are numerous. Formerly also Spondylea. See cut under Spondylus.
2. In entomology, a family of phytophagous coleopterous insects, typified by the genus Spondylis, having deeply impressed sensitive surfaces of the antennæ, and the tarsi not dilated. The family was erected by Le Conte and Horn to receive all the aberrant Cerambycidæ of Lacordaire, probably representing in the modern fauna remnants of the undifferentiated types of a former geologic age. The genera and species are few. Also Spondylii.