An allozyme analysis on three species of Mediterranean Veneridae (Mollusca: Bivalvia): Callista chione (subfamily Pitarinae), Venus verrucosa (Venerinae) and Chamelea gallina (Chioninae) is presented. The results were compared with the previously obtained allozyme data on Tapes philippinarum, T. decussatus, Venerupis aurea and Paphia undulata (all pertaining to the subfamily Tapetinae). The newly analysed species showed remarkable departures from the Hardy–Weinberg proportions, as commonly observed in several populations of Bivalvia. The present analysis revealed a high level of relationship between C. gallina and Venus verrucosa and suggested that the genus Tapes, as presently defined, should be regarded as an unnatural taxon. The allozyme results are consistent with mitochondrial 16s ribosomal DNA and satellite DNAs analyses on the same species, with the only exception of Callista chione which seems to be basal to (UPGMA method) or even included (Neighbor-Joining method) in the Tapetinae cluster.