Modiolus

Modiolus, the horsemussels, are a genus of medium-sized marine bivalve molluscs in the family Mytilidae.

Modiolus

Ddt · Public Domain · 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
Also called
horsemusselPBDB
Sits inside
MytilidaePBDB
Diet
suspension feederPBDB
Life habit
semi-infaunalPBDB
Motility
stationary, attached, epibiontPBDB
Vision
blindPBDB, for Bivalvia
Environment
lagoonal,coastal,inner shelf,outer shelf,oceanic,brackish,freshwaterPBDB, for Mytilidae

Time the record covers

At least 393 million years on record.

The record covers at least 393.47 Mya to 11.7 ka. No occurrence read is dated outside 410.62 Mya to 0 Mya.

Devonian — about 10 of 2234 occurrencesDevonianCarboniferous — about 30 of 2234 occurrencesCarboniferousPermian — about 26 of 2234 occurrencesPermianEarly Triassic — about 15 of 2234 occurrencesMiddle Triassic — about 71 of 2234 occurrencesLate Triassic — about 171 of 2234 occurrencesLate TriassicEarly Jurassic — about 425 of 2234 occurrencesMiddle Jurassic — about 324 of 2234 occurrencesLate Jurassic — about 266 of 2234 occurrencesEarly Cretaceous — about 98 of 2234 occurrencesEarly CretaceousLate Cretaceous — about 222 of 2234 occurrencesLate CretaceousPaleocene — about 37 of 2234 occurrencesEocene — about 134 of 2234 occurrencesOligocene — about 69 of 2234 occurrencesMiocene — about 149 of 2234 occurrencesPliocene — about 49 of 2234 occurrencesPleistocene — about 136 of 2234 occurrences419–405 Mya — about 3 occurrences405–391 Mya — about 6 occurrences391–377 Mya — about 0.7 occurrences377–363 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences363–349 Mya — about 1 occurrence349–335 Mya — about 6 occurrences335–321 Mya — about 11 occurrences321–307 Mya — about 8 occurrences307–293 Mya — about 7 occurrences293–279 Mya — about 11 occurrences279–265 Mya — about 5 occurrences265–251 Mya — about 14 occurrences251–237 Mya — about 77 occurrences237–223 Mya — about 83 occurrences223–209 Mya — about 22 occurrences209–195 Mya — about 220 occurrences195–181 Mya — about 240 occurrences181–168 Mya — about 126 occurrences168–154 Mya — about 375 occurrences154–140 Mya — about 127 occurrences140–126 Mya — about 27 occurrences126–112 Mya — about 30 occurrences112–98 Mya — about 48 occurrences98–84 Mya — about 44 occurrences84–70 Mya — about 80 occurrences70–56 Mya — about 123 occurrences56–42 Mya — about 38 occurrences42–28 Mya — about 135 occurrences28–14 Mya — about 106 occurrences14–0 Mya — about 260 occurrences393.47 Mya11.7 ka419 Mya0 Mya

2,234 occurrences of Modiolus on record, most of them in the Early Jurassic. The Paleobiology Database records this as a living group. 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

2,234 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

541 formations

Tataouine — 33.00°N, 10.47°ETataouine — 32.00°N, 10.47°EKap Leslie — 70.48°N, 21.97°WDhruma — 24.23°N, 46.58°EDhruma — 22.62°N, 46.00°EDhruma — 22.53°N, 46.17°EDhruma — 23.97°N, 46.17°EDhruma — 21.12°N, 45.50°EDhruma — 23.97°N, 46.00°EDhruma — 23.08°N, 46.33°EDhruma — 22.83°N, 46.83°EDhruma — 21.88°N, 45.83°EDhruma — 25.05°N, 45.67°EDhruma — 25.37°N, 45.50°EDhruma — 25.70°N, 45.67°EDhruma — 25.78°N, 45.25°EDhruma — 25.97°N, 45.00°EDhruma — 26.20°N, 44.83°EDhruma — 26.33°N, 44.83°EChari — 23.50°N, 70.50°EAlcobaca — 39.32°N, 9.35°WAlcobaca — 38.42°N, 9.22°WAlcobaca — 39.52°N, 9.13°WAlcobaca — 39.55°N, 9.00°WAberhan Sinemur — 33.47°S, 70.75°WBlue Lias — 50.00°N, 2.00°WBlue Lias — 51.00°N, 3.00°WBlue Lias — 51.17°N, 3.27°WBlue Lias — 50.80°N, 3.03°WQingyan — 26.33°N, 106.68°EQingyan — 26.92°N, 108.73°EQingyan — 26.35°N, 106.70°ECassian — 46.68°N, 12.15°ECassian — 46.64°N, 12.20°ECassian — 46.52°N, 11.96°ECassian — 46.53°N, 11.92°ECassian — 46.54°N, 11.62°ECassian — 46.57°N, 11.94°ECassian — 46.60°N, 12.26°ELa Meseta — 64.23°S, 56.65°WLa Meseta — 64.25°S, 56.70°WLa Meseta — 64.26°S, 56.62°WLa Meseta — 64.22°S, 56.64°WCarmel — 37.59°N, 113.07°WCarmel — 37.36°N, 113.33°WCarmel — 37.26°N, 113.78°WCarmel — 38.98°N, 110.88°WCarmel — 38.27°N, 110.51°WCarmel — 39.13°N, 110.47°WCarmel — 37.28°N, 112.51°WCarmel — 37.31°N, 112.59°WCarmel — 37.22°N, 112.68°WCarmel — 37.25°N, 112.90°WCarmel — 37.25°N, 112.83°WWestbury — 51.17°N, 3.27°WWestbury — 51.82°N, 2.41°WWestbury — 54.26°N, 1.28°WCareaga Sandstone — 34.88°N, 120.51°WCareaga Sandstone — 34.74°N, 120.41°WCareaga Sandstone — 34.90°N, 120.32°WLower Lias — 51.80°N, 1.88°WTemblor — 35.95°N, 120.25°WTemblor — 35.95°N, 120.22°WSubmeseta — 64.24°S, 56.66°WSubmeseta — 64.24°S, 56.65°WSubmeseta — 64.26°S, 56.66°WSubmeseta — 64.25°S, 56.63°WProvidence — 31.76°N, 85.13°WProvidence — 31.73°N, 85.11°WProvidence — 31.89°N, 85.21°WProvidence — 31.87°N, 85.72°WProvidence — 31.82°N, 85.00°WSobral — 39.10°N, 9.27°WSuwannee Limestone — 28.20°N, 82.18°WSuwannee Limestone — 28.56°N, 82.39°WSuwannee Limestone — 30.11°N, 82.70°WSuwannee Limestone — 30.33°N, 82.76°WSuwannee Limestone — 29.92°N, 82.71°WSuwannee Limestone — 29.87°N, 82.75°WSuwannee Limestone — 30.28°N, 83.71°WSuwannee Limestone — 30.40°N, 83.17°WShuqra — 14.27°N, 48.57°EShuqra — 14.30°N, 48.47°EShuqra — 14.32°N, 48.45°ETrigonia clavellata — 50.80°N, 2.28°WTrigonia clavellata — 50.60°N, 2.45°WEugene — 44.06°N, 123.09°WEugene — 44.77°N, 123.03°WVaqueros — 33.55°N, 117.82°WVaqueros — 34.33°N, 118.83°WVaqueros — 34.04°N, 118.88°WVaqueros — 34.38°N, 118.84°WVaqueros — 34.51°N, 120.23°WVaqueros — 34.52°N, 120.43°WVaqueros — 34.57°N, 120.29°WVaqueros — 34.53°N, 120.35°WVaqueros — 34.58°N, 120.16°WVaqueros — 34.92°N, 119.13°WChoptank — 38.39°N, 76.57°WChoptank — 38.41°N, 76.48°WChoptank — 38.52°N, 76.51°W

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The named rock units Modiolus has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. 517 further formations hold fewer occurrences each and are not listed. 680 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Modiolus and its relatives

Early Jurassic

Where Modiolus and its relatives were recorded in the Early Jurassic.

Found in the same rock

1,909 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records 1,572 sites for Modiolus, and this reads 240 of them. Of that, one read hit the database's own return limit, so every count below is a floor rather than a total. 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

562 references

Each of the 2,234 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. 550 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 content3

Picture of Modiolus

Credit
Ddt
Licence
Public Domain
Commercial use
the licence allows it

CT scan

Licence
In Copyright
Commercial use
cannot be read from the licence given — check the record
Specimen
Modiolus modiolus · fmnh:invertebrate zoology:126621

3D model

Source
Sketchfab
Licence
CC Attribution
Commercial use
cannot be read from the licence given — check the record

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 itMytilidae through timeFormations of the Early JurassicThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. (Lamarck 1801)