Conchifera is a
subphylum
In zoological nomenclature, a subphylum is a taxonomic rank below the rank of phylum.
The taxonomic rank of " subdivision" in fungi and plant taxonomy is equivalent to "subphylum" in zoological taxonomy. Some plant taxonomists have also used th ...
of the phylum
Mollusca. It comprises all of the
shell
Shell may refer to:
Architecture and design
* Shell (structure), a thin structure
** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses
** Thin-shell structure
Science Biology
* Seashell, a hard o ...
-bearing
classes of molluscs, such as clams, tusk shells, ammonites, and
monoplacophorans. The other subphylum is
Aculifera.
Non-monoplacophoran conchiferans emerged within the once-widespread Monoplacophora. The only descendant which retains its ancestral shape is the
Tryblidiida.
This taxonomic term is used mostly by
paleontologist
Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...
s, and not by scientists who study the living
molluscs.
Classes
Classes within the Conchifera include:
*
Monoplacophora
*
Bivalvia
Bivalvia (), in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of marine and freshwater molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hinged parts. As a group, biva ...
*
Gastropoda
*
Scaphopoda
*
Cephalopoda
A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan class Cephalopoda (Greek plural , ; "head-feet") such as a squid, octopus, cuttlefish, or nautilus. These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral body symmetry, a prominent hea ...
*
Archinacelloidea†
*
Rostroconchia
The Rostroconchia is a class of extinct molluscs dating from the early Cambrian to the Late Permian. They were initially thought to be bivalves, but were later given their own class. They have a single shell in their larval stage, and the adult t ...
†
*
Helcionelloida†
See also
*
Evolution of Mollusca
References
External links
BioLib info
{{Authority control
Mollusc taxonomy
Animal subphyla
Prehistoric mollusc taxonomy