Lopha

Lopha Temporal range: Triassic - Recent PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Fossil Lopha sp. from Upper Cretaceous, France
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Bivalvia
Order:	Ostreida
Family:	Ostreidae
Subfamily:	Ostreinae
Genus:	Lopha Röding, 1798
Synonyms
AlectryoniaFischer von Waldheim, 1807

Lopha is a genus of marine bivalve molluscs in the family of Ostreidae.

The genus Lopha is present from the Triassic period in the Lower Norian age (216.5 ± 2.0 – 203.6 ± 1.5 Mya) to the recent age.

Description

Lopha species have thick, strongly ribbed shells with unequal valves. The margins of the valves have a characteristic zig-zag pattern. The lower valve shows finger-like outgrowths, by which the molluscs adhere to the substrate. These molluscs are stationary, epifaunal, suspension feeders, as they feed by filtering sea water to extract the nutrients.

Species

• Lopha affinis Sowerby, 1871
• Lopha capsa Fischer von Waldheim, 1808
• Lopha chemnitzii Hanley, 1846
• Lopha cristagalli C. Linnaeus, 1758
• Lopha frons C. Linnaeus, 1758
• Lopha imbricata J. B. Lamarck, 1819
• Lopha rosacea G. P. Deshayes, 1836

Fossil species

• Lopha gregarea , Oxfordian (stage) (160 mya)
• Lopha marshii (Sowerby, 1914), Bajocian (170 mya)

Gallery

• 
  Lopha cristagalli
• 
  Lopha colubrina in Naturalis, Leiden

References

• Biolib
• WoRMS
• Animal Diversity
• Paleobiology Database
• Sepkoski, Jack Sepkoski's Online Genus Database