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Craniida
| Description | The Craniidae are a family of brachiopods, commonly known as lamp shells. Although it belongs to a subdivision called the inarticulata which have shells where the mineral content consist of calcium phosphate, the Craniidae have shells that consist of calcium carbonate. Other special characteristics of this family are that no outgrowths are developed to form a hinge between both valves, nor is there any support for the lophophore. As adults, craniids either lived free on the ocean floor or, more commonly, were attached to a hard object with all or part of the ventral valve. All other brachiopods are supposed to have a stalk or pedicle, at least as an adolescent, but in craniids a pedicle is not known from any development stage. From Wikipedia article at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craniida, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Rank | order | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxonomy (GBIF,PBDB) | Life : Animalia : Brachiopoda : Craniata : Craniida | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxonomic Status (GBIF) | accepted | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Classification (PBDB,GBIF) |
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| Scientific Name | Craniida | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opinions (PBDB) |
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| Status (PBDB) | extant | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxon Size (PBDB) | 109 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Extant Size (PBDB) | 24 (22%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First Recorded Appearance | 485 - 478 Ma Paleozoic | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Environment | marine (based on Craniata) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Motility | stationary | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vision | blind (based on Craniata) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Diet | suspension feeder | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taphonomy | low Mg calcite | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Primary Reference (PBDB) | J. J. Sepkoski, Jr. 2002. A compendium of fossil marine animal genera. Bulletins of American Paleontology 363:1-560 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wikipedia | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craniida |
External Images
Fossil Distribution
Subtaxa
| Name | Status | Common Name(s) | Fossil Occurrences | Oldest | Youngest |
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| Craniacea ✝ superfamily | listed (PBDB) | 1 | 408 Ma Early/Lower Devonian | 408 Ma Early/Lower Devonian | |
| Cranioidea superfamily | listed (PBDB) | 885 | 485 Ma Cambrian | 0 Ma Extant | |
| Craniidae family | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 885 | 485 Ma Cambrian | 0 Ma Extant |
Synonymy List
| Year | Name and Author |
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| 1885 | Craniida Waagen |
| 2000 | Craniida Craig p. 113 |
| 2000 | Craniida Williams et al. p. 169 |
| 2002 | Craniida Sepkoski, Jr. |
| 2003 | Craniida Kiessling |
References
Data courtesy of: PBDB: The Paleobiology Database, Creative Commons CC-BY licenced. , GBIF: the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, various licences, iDigBio, various licences, and EOL: The Encyclopedia of Life (Open Data Public Domain). Because fossils are made of minerals too!
Indiana, USA