Tentaculita is an extinct class of uncertain placement ranging from the Early Ordovician to the Middle Jurassic. They were suspension feeders with a near worldwide distribution. For a more thorough discussion, see ''

Tentaculites ''Tentaculites'' is an extinct genus of conical fossils of uncertain affinity, class Tentaculita, although it is not the only member of the class. It is known from Lower Ordovician to Upper Devonian deposits both as calcitic shells with a brachio ...

''. The presence of perforate septa and "septal necks" has been used to argue for a cephalopod affinity, whereas the shell microstructure, notably the presence of punctae, points to a brachiopod relationship.

Subdivisions

; Subclasses * Chonioconarida ;Orders *

Cornulitida Cornulitida is an extinct order of encrusting animals from class Tentaculita, which were common around the globe in the Ordovician to Devonian oceans, and survived until the Carboniferous. The organisms had shells, and were subject to predation ...

Microconchida The order Microconchida is a group of small, spirally-coiled, encrusting fossil "worm" tubes from the class Tentaculita found from the Upper Ordovician to the Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) around the world. They have lamellar calcitic shells, u ...

* Tentaculitida *

Trypanoporida Trypanoporida is an extinct order of encrusting animals within Class Tentaculita, which were common in Devonian oceans (Weedon, 1991). Their affinity is unknown; they have been placed among worms and corals. They appear to be closely related to ot ...

;Genera *'' Anticalyptraea''

References

* Farsan, N. M. (1994). Tentaculiten: Ontogenese, Systematik, Phylogenese, Biostratonomie und Morphologie. ''Abhandlungen der Senckenbergischen Naturforschenden Gesellschaft'' 547: 1-128. * *

Subdivisions

References

Further reading