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Linguliformea
Encyclopedia
Linguliformea is a subphylum of inarticulate brachiopod
s. These were the earliest of brachiopods, ranging from the Cambrian
into the Holocene
. They rapidly diversified during the Cambrian into the Ordovician
, but most families went extinct by the end of the Devonian
.
The articulation in these brachiopods is lacking. These brachiopods have adductor and oblique muscles, but no diductor muscles. The anus is located at the side of the body. The pedicle is a hollow extension of the ventral body wall. Posterior body wall separates dorsal and ventral mantles.
The shells are usually made up of apatite
(calcium phosphate), however rare cases have calcite
or aragonite
shells.
Brachiopod
Brachiopods are a phylum of marine animals that have hard "valves" on the upper and lower surfaces, unlike the left and right arrangement in bivalve molluscs. Brachiopod valves are hinged at the rear end, while the front can be opened for feeding or closed for protection...
s. These were the earliest of brachiopods, ranging from the Cambrian
Cambrian
The Cambrian is the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, lasting from Mya ; it is succeeded by the Ordovician. Its subdivisions, and indeed its base, are somewhat in flux. The period was established by Adam Sedgwick, who named it after Cambria, the Latin name for Wales, where Britain's...
into the Holocene
Holocene
The Holocene is a geological epoch which began at the end of the Pleistocene and continues to the present. The Holocene is part of the Quaternary period. Its name comes from the Greek words and , meaning "entirely recent"...
. They rapidly diversified during the Cambrian into the Ordovician
Ordovician
The Ordovician is a geologic period and system, the second of six of the Paleozoic Era, and covers the time between 488.3±1.7 to 443.7±1.5 million years ago . It follows the Cambrian Period and is followed by the Silurian Period...
, but most families went extinct by the end of the Devonian
Devonian
The Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic Era spanning from the end of the Silurian Period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Mya , to the beginning of the Carboniferous Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya...
.
The articulation in these brachiopods is lacking. These brachiopods have adductor and oblique muscles, but no diductor muscles. The anus is located at the side of the body. The pedicle is a hollow extension of the ventral body wall. Posterior body wall separates dorsal and ventral mantles.
The shells are usually made up of apatite
Apatite
Apatite is a group of phosphate minerals, usually referring to hydroxylapatite, fluorapatite, chlorapatite and bromapatite, named for high concentrations of OH−, F−, Cl− or Br− ions, respectively, in the crystal...
(calcium phosphate), however rare cases have calcite
Calcite
Calcite is a carbonate mineral and the most stable polymorph of calcium carbonate . The other polymorphs are the minerals aragonite and vaterite. Aragonite will change to calcite at 380-470°C, and vaterite is even less stable.-Properties:...
or aragonite
Aragonite
Aragonite is a carbonate mineral, one of the two common, naturally occurring, crystal forms of calcium carbonate, CaCO3...
shells.