windowpane shell

mollusk genus

Also known as: Placuna, windowpane oyster

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Last updated

July 15, 2026

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The windowpane shell, belonging to the mollusk genus Placuna, is known for its large, flat, and paper-thin shell. This mollusk is particularly common in the Philippines. For thousands of years, especially in China, its shell has been used as a substitute for glass. The windowpane shell is a type of bivalve, and while bivalves vary greatly in size, Placuna has adapted a unique shell form for close attachment to hard surfaces.12

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bivalve
Size range and diversity of structure
…example of this is the windowpane shell Placuna. This form has allowed the close attachment of one valve to a hard surface, and although some groups still retain byssal attachment (family Anomiidae), others have forsaken this for cementation, as in the true oysters (family Ostreidae), where the left valve is…
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…example of this is the windowpane shell Placuna. This form has allowed the close attachment of one valve to a hard surface, and although some groups still retain byssal attachment (family Anomiidae), others have forsaken this for cementation, as in the true oysters (family Ostreidae), where the left valve is…
Read More