Conchifera
Taxonomic term for shell-bearing molluscs
Conchifera is a subphylum of the phylum Mollusca, containing five extant classes: Monoplacophora, Cephalopoda, Gastropoda, Bivalvia, and Scaphopoda. Conchiferans can bear a single shell as in snails and ammonites, a single pair of shells as in clams, or lack a shell as in slugs and squid. The other subphylum is Aculifera, the members of which are shellless or have a row of several plates. Non-monoplacophoran conchiferans emerged within the once-widespread Monoplacophora. The only descendant which retains its ancestral shape is the Tryblidiida.
The monophyly of Conchifera is supported by molecular phylogenetic analysis. The relationships among the members of Conchifera are disputed. A grouping of Scaphopoda and Bivalvia, named Diasoma, has been proposed, but other studies find scaphopods to be more closely related to cephalopods or gastropods.
Conchifera originated in the early Cambrian period.
01Classes
Classes within the Conchifera include:
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Conchifera”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Giant clam or Tridacna gigas.jpg by Janderk, Public domain
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