Linguliformea is a subphylum of inarticulate

brachiopod Brachiopods (), phylum Brachiopoda, are a phylum of trochozoan animals that have hard "valves" (shells) on the upper and lower surfaces, unlike the left and right arrangement in bivalve molluscs. Brachiopod valves are hinged at the rear end, w ...

s. These were the earliest of brachiopods, ranging from the Cambrian into the

Holocene The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togeth ...

. They rapidly diversified during the Cambrian into the

Ordovician The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years from the end of the Cambrian Period million years ago (Mya) to the start of the Silurian Period Mya. T ...

, but most families became 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 Aragonite is a carbonate mineral, one of the three most common naturally occurring crystal forms of calcium carbonate, (the other forms being the minerals calcite and vaterite). It is formed by biological and physical processes, including pre ...

shells.

References

Brachiopod taxonomy Paleozoic brachiopods Devonian extinctions Animal subphyla {{Brachiopod-stub

See also

References