Resilifer

[[File:Ostreidae hinge.jpg|thumb|Hinge area in one valve of an oyster shell (Ostreidae), showing the groove that is the resilifer]]

A '''resilifer''' is a part of the shell of certain bivalve mollusks. It is either a recess (a pit or groove of some sort) or a process, the function of which is the attachment of an internal ligament, which holds the two valves together.

An internal ligament (which requires a resilifer to function) is part of the hinge mechanism in certain taxonomic families of bivalve shells, such as oysters and scallops.<ref>[http://paleo.cortland.edu/tutorial/Bivalves/bivalvemorph.htm Tutorial Bivalves]State University of New York College at Cortland {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200129012821/http://paleo.cortland.edu/tutorial/Bivalves/bivalvemorph.htm |date=2020-01-29 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Bivalves |author=J.H. Leal |publisher=Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum |location=Florida, USA |url=http://www.shellmuseum.org/BivalvesLeal.pdf |access-date=2012-11-04 |archive-date=2013-05-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130511085317/http://www.shellmuseum.org/BivalvesLeal.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Invertebrate Paleobiology on-line syllabus on Bivalves|author=Dr. Burt Carter |publisher=Georgia Southwestern State University |url=http://itc.gsw.edu/faculty/bcarter/paleo/labs/moll/biv2.htm |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200225231137/http://itc.gsw.edu/faculty/bcarter/paleo/labs/moll/biv2.htm |archivedate=2020-02-25 }}</ref> A resilifer (and its associated ligament) is the primary structure comprising the type of bivalve hinge that is known as an "isodont" hinge.

[[File:Pectinidae hinge.jpg|thumb|The hinge area in one valve of a scallop shell (Pectinidae), showing the internal ligament still positioned in the resilifer]]

==References== {{Reflist}}

Category:Mollusc shells