Monopleura

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Monopleura
Temporal range: Cretaceous
Scientific classification
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Monopleura [1]

Monopleura is a genus of saltwater clams, marine bivalve mollusks in the family Monopleuridae. These fossils have been dated back to the Cretaceous Period (145.5 million to 66 million years ago).

These bivalves are known as pachyodonts.

Description

The thick triangular shell in this genus is capped by a smaller dome-shaped shell. Some of the pachyodonts possessed open passageways through the shell that allowed for fluids to pass. These pachyodont bivalves were habitually sedentary and grew upright with the pointed end anchored in the substrate. [2]

Related Research Articles

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Bivalvia Class of molluscs

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. Bivalves as a group have no head and they lack some usual molluscan organs like the radula and the odontophore. They include the clams, oysters, cockles, mussels, scallops, and numerous other families that live in saltwater, as well as a number of families that live in freshwater. The majority are filter feeders. The gills have evolved into ctenidia, specialised organs for feeding and breathing. Most bivalves bury themselves in sediment where they are relatively safe from predation. Others lie on the sea floor or attach themselves to rocks or other hard surfaces. Some bivalves, such as the scallops and file shells, can swim. The shipworms bore into wood, clay, or stone and live inside these substances.

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Rostroconchia Extinct class of molluscs

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 typically has a single, pseudo-bivalved shell enclosing the mantle and muscular foot. The anterior part of the shell probably pointed downward and had a gap from which the foot could probably emerge. Rostroconchs probably lived a sedentary semi-infaunal lifestyle. There were probably more than 1,000 species of members of this class.

Mytilida Order of bivalves

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False ark shell Genus of molluscs

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<i>Aequipecten</i> Genus of bivalves

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Mollusca Large phylum of invertebrate animals

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<i>Isognomon</i> Genus of bivalves

Isognomon is a genus of marine bivalve mollusks which is related to the pearl oysters.

<i>Senilia</i> Genus of bivalves

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<i>Claraia</i> Extinct genus of bivalves

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Juliidae Family of gastropods

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<i>Fordilla</i> Extinct genus of bivalves

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Bakevelliidae Extinct family of bivalves

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Emiliodonta is an extinct genus of bivalve in the extinct family Praenuculidae. The genus is one of three genera in the subfamily Concavodontinae. Emiliodonta is known solely from late Ordovician, Caradocian epoch, fossils found in South America. The genus contains a single accepted species, Emiliodonta cuerdai.

Hinge teeth

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<i>Gigantostrea</i> Extinct genus of bivalves

Gigantostrea is an extinct genus of marine bivalve mollusks belonging to the family Gryphaeidae.

<i>Neopycnodonte</i> Genus of bivalves

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<i>Pseudochama</i> Genus of bivalves

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<i>Cremnoceramus</i> Extinct genus of bivalves

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References

  1. "Monopleura figolina". Zipcode Zoo. Retrieved 16 November 2010.
  2. "Monopleura". Britannica. Retrieved 16 November 2010.