Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Aug 2, 2026

Lira (mollusc)

Lirae are a sculptural feature of the outside of the shells of various molluscs. An organism bearing lirae is "lirate". The feature was described by Leslie Reginald Cox in 1960 as a "fine linear elevation on shell surface or within outer lip" of gastropod shells. The term is also commonly applied to the shells of bivalves, nautiloids and brachiopods.

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Lirae (singular lira) are a sculptural feature of the outside of the shells of various molluscs. An organism bearing lirae is "lirate". The feature was described by Leslie Reginald Cox in 1960 as a "fine linear elevation on shell surface or within outer lip" of gastropod shells.1 The term is also commonly applied to the shells of bivalves, nautiloids and brachiopods.

References

References

  1. Cox, L. R. (1960). Part I, Mollusca 1, ch. 2, p. 184-169. Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology.