Graptoloidea

Graptolites are a group of colonial animals, members of the subclass Graptolithina within the class Pterobranchia. These filter-feeding organisms are known chiefly from fossils found from the Middle Cambrian through the Lower Carboniferous (Mississippian). A possible early graptolite, Chaunograptus, is known from the Middle Cambrian. Recent analyses have favored the idea that the living pterobranch Rhabdopleura represents an extant graptolite which diverged from the rest of the group in the Cambrian.

Graptoloidea

Grezmagro · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikipedia/Commons. May be a photograph of a specimen, or an artist’s reconstruction — an interpretation of a skeleton, since colour and soft tissue are almost never preserved.

On record

Recorded, not inferred
Sits inside
GraptolithinaPBDB
Diet
suspension feederPBDB
Life habit
planktonicPBDB
Motility
passively mobilePBDB
Vision
blindPBDB, for Graptolithina

Time the record covers

At least 106 million years on record.

The record covers at least 494.2 Mya to 387.95 Mya. No occurrence read is dated outside 497 Mya to 382.31 Mya.

Cambrian — about 5 of 7465 occurrencesCambrianOrdovician — about 5034 of 7465 occurrencesOrdovicianSilurian — about 2200 of 7465 occurrencesSilurianDevonian — about 226 of 7465 occurrencesDevonian499–495 Mya — about 0.8 occurrences495–491 Mya — about 0.8 occurrences491–487 Mya — about 3 occurrences487–483 Mya — about 138 occurrences483–479 Mya — about 203 occurrences479–475 Mya — about 364 occurrences475–471 Mya — about 496 occurrences471–467 Mya — about 719 occurrences467–464 Mya — about 255 occurrences464–460 Mya — about 393 occurrences460–456 Mya — about 520 occurrences456–452 Mya — about 442 occurrences452–448 Mya — about 703 occurrences448–444 Mya — about 708 occurrences444–440 Mya — about 780 occurrences440–436 Mya — about 492 occurrences436–432 Mya — about 347 occurrences432–428 Mya — about 152 occurrences428–424 Mya — about 280 occurrences424–420 Mya — about 237 occurrences420–416 Mya — about 102 occurrences416–412 Mya — about 84 occurrences412–408 Mya — about 21 occurrences408–404 Mya — about 8 occurrences404–400 Mya — about 8 occurrences400–396 Mya — about 6 occurrences396–392 Mya — about 4 occurrences392–388 Mya — about 0.6 occurrences388–384 Mya — about 1 occurrence384–380 Mya — about 0.5 occurrences494.2 Mya387.95 Mya499 Mya380 Mya

7,465 occurrences of Graptoloidea on record, most of them in the Ordovician. Bar height is expected occurrences, not a count: each fossil is spread across the span it is dated to, so a tall narrow bar means tight dating and a low wide one means loose.

When

7,465 occurrences

These are dates about fossils, not the animal: the record can only begin after it arose and end before it died out, so either end may reach further. Shares are expected occurrences: a fossil dated to a span is counted partly in each period it straddles. More on what this infers.

Found in

582 formations

Phi Kappa — 43.84°N, 114.27°WPhi Kappa — 43.85°N, 114.18°WVinini — 39.87°N, 116.23°WWufeng — 33.00°N, 111.00°EWufeng — 29.00°N, 109.00°EWufeng — 28.00°N, 107.00°EWufeng — 29.00°N, 107.00°EWufeng — 32.00°N, 107.00°EWufeng — 28.00°N, 105.00°EWufeng — 32.00°N, 105.00°EWufeng — 28.00°N, 109.00°EWufeng — 27.00°N, 105.00°EWufeng — 31.00°N, 107.00°EWufeng — 32.00°N, 108.00°EWufeng — 29.00°N, 108.00°EWufeng — 32.00°N, 106.00°EWufeng — 29.00°N, 110.00°EWufeng — 29.00°N, 111.00°EWufeng — 29.00°N, 112.00°EWufeng — 30.00°N, 111.00°EWufeng — 31.00°N, 111.00°EWufeng — 29.00°N, 115.00°EWufeng — 32.00°N, 118.00°EWufeng — 30.00°N, 117.00°EWufeng — 30.00°N, 116.00°EWufeng — 32.00°N, 119.00°EWufeng — 33.00°N, 106.00°EWufeng — 30.00°N, 103.00°EWufeng — 27.60°N, 105.42°EWufeng — 31.86°N, 111.86°ELower Road River — 68.17°N, 137.00°WLower Road River — 62.47°N, 129.07°WLower Road River — 65.40°N, 137.38°WLower Road River — 66.17°N, 136.08°WLower Road River — 65.88°N, 135.67°WAorangi Mine — 40.68°S, 172.68°EAorangi Mine — 40.60°S, 172.56°EAorangi Mine — 40.72°S, 172.45°EAorangi Mine — 41.99°S, 172.16°EAorangi Mine — 41.67°S, 172.39°EAorangi Mine — 41.75°S, 171.65°ERoad River — 64.50°N, 130.00°WRoad River — 62.64°N, 124.97°WRoad River — 68.17°N, 137.00°WRoad River — 65.35°N, 133.50°WRoad River — 66.73°N, 135.77°WRoad River — 66.60°N, 135.55°WRoad River — 65.93°N, 135.90°WRoad River — 65.47°N, 138.22°WRoad River — 64.76°N, 135.17°WRoad River — 62.12°N, 126.68°WRoad River — 61.63°N, 125.73°WRoad River — 62.47°N, 129.07°WRoad River — 62.42°N, 127.25°WRoad River — 61.70°N, 125.55°WRoad River — 65.38°N, 134.18°WRoad River — 65.05°N, 135.15°WRoad River — 65.28°N, 135.70°WRoad River — 65.22°N, 136.68°WRoad River — 65.40°N, 137.38°WRoad River — 65.48°N, 139.15°WRoad River — 64.92°N, 139.58°WRoad River — 65.38°N, 140.30°WRoad River — 66.17°N, 136.08°WRoad River — 66.42°N, 135.52°WRoad River — 67.57°N, 138.17°WRoad River — 68.40°N, 138.12°WRoad River — 64.92°N, 140.99°WNingguo — 29.00°N, 115.00°ENingguo — 28.00°N, 118.00°ENingguo — 30.00°N, 120.00°ENingguo — 30.00°N, 119.00°ENingguo — 29.00°N, 119.00°ERoad River — 64.95°N, 141.04°WRoad River — 64.96°N, 141.21°WRoad River — 65.19°N, 141.32°WRoad River — 65.35°N, 141.05°WRoad River — 65.27°N, 141.63°WRoad River — 65.96°N, 141.20°WLeslie — 41.14°S, 172.59°ELeslie — 41.09°S, 172.54°ETuloi — 52.22°N, 87.01°ETuloi — 52.02°N, 87.12°EDescon — 55.63°N, 133.57°WDescon — 55.52°N, 133.30°WDescon — 55.50°N, 133.62°WRollston Range — 20.53°S, 146.43°EVoskresenka — 51.17°N, 82.05°EVoskresenka — 51.61°N, 82.94°EVoskresenka — 51.62°N, 82.62°EAcoite — 24.00°S, 66.00°WAcoite — 22.30°S, 65.30°WAcoite — 22.00°S, 66.00°WAcoite — 23.60°S, 65.69°WAcoite — 23.55°S, 65.67°WAcoite — 23.19°S, 65.72°WAcoite — 23.26°S, 65.64°WAcoite — 23.08°S, 65.70°WAcoite — 23.67°S, 65.69°WAcoite — 22.99°S, 65.70°WAcoite — 22.10°S, 65.49°WPeel — 41.14°S, 172.59°EPeel — 41.09°S, 172.54°EDawan — 33.00°N, 111.00°EDawan — 28.00°N, 109.00°EDawan — 32.00°N, 108.00°EDawan — 29.00°N, 109.00°EDawan — 30.00°N, 111.00°EDawan — 31.00°N, 111.00°EDawan — 27.00°N, 101.00°EDawan — 30.00°N, 116.00°EDawan — 30.86°N, 110.37°EMeitan — 28.00°N, 107.00°EMeitan — 29.00°N, 107.00°EMeitan — 27.00°N, 107.00°EMeitan — 27.00°N, 105.00°EMeitan — 29.00°N, 109.00°EMeitan — 28.00°N, 105.00°EPozary — 49.93°N, 14.18°EPozary — 50.00°N, 14.35°EPozary — 49.90°N, 14.02°EPozary — 49.95°N, 12.93°EPozary — 50.03°N, 14.42°EPozary — 50.08°N, 14.47°EPozary — 49.52°N, 13.50°EPozary — 49.15°N, 13.57°EHule — 29.00°N, 115.00°EHule — 28.00°N, 118.00°EHule — 29.00°N, 119.00°EHule — 31.00°N, 120.00°EHule — 30.00°N, 120.00°EYinGan — 41.00°N, 79.00°EYinGan — 40.64°N, 79.50°EOued Ali — 29.00°N, 3.00°WOued Ali — 29.55°N, 2.13°WOued Ali — 29.65°N, 2.28°WOued Ali — 29.75°N, 2.28°WOued Ali — 30.02°N, 2.08°WKaradere — 41.27°N, 33.08°EKaradere — 41.35°N, 33.03°ECape Phillips — 75.13°N, 95.00°WCape Phillips — 73.38°N, 99.07°WCape Phillips — 75.87°N, 94.58°WCape Phillips — 75.18°N, 93.93°WCape Phillips — 75.88°N, 94.80°WCape Phillips — 76.70°N, 96.88°WCape Phillips — 75.18°N, 94.03°WCape Phillips — 75.43°N, 94.33°WCape Phillips — 75.14°N, 93.62°WCape Phillips — 78.53°N, 83.32°WGreen Point — 50.05°N, 57.70°WGreen Point — 49.83°N, 57.87°WGreen Point — 49.68°N, 57.97°WGreen Point — 49.85°N, 57.81°W

Loading coastlines…

The named rock units Graptoloidea has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. 558 further formations hold fewer occurrences each and are not listed. 1,338 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Graptoloidea and its relatives

Ordovician

Where Graptoloidea and its relatives were recorded in the Ordovician.

Found in the same rock

1,878 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records at least 584 sites for Graptoloidea, and this reads 240 of them. The number is how many of those sites it was catalogued from too. The 24 sharing the most are listed.

This is not a list of everything alive at the time. It is only what has come out of the same ground as this animal and been written down.

Entered from

528 references

Each of the 7,465 occurrences read was entered from one of these publications, ordered by how many each accounts for. This is not a search for papers mentioning the name. 516 further references are not listed. Entries link to doi.org where the Paleobiology Database holds an identifier, and to its own record where it does not. Relayed as the Paleobiology Database holds them, not checked against what they resolve to.

Media and terms

Media content1

Picture of Graptoloidea

Credit
Grezmagro
Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0
Commercial use
the licence allows it

No 3D scan of Graptoloidea was found in MorphoSource and Sketchfab.

Smithsonian Open Access was not reached for this taxon, so this list is what the others held rather than everything there is.

The description on this site

Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0

This is what the site found, which is not the same as what exists.

Keep going

What may have been alongside itGraptolithina through timeFormations of the OrdovicianThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. Lapworth 1875