Rostroconchia

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.

Rostroconchia

Peter J. Wagner Mithril · 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
Sits inside
MolluscaPBDB
Diet
suspension feederPBDB
Life habit
semi-infaunalPBDB
Motility
stationaryPBDB
Vision
blindPBDB

Time the record covers

At least 261 million years on record.

The record covers at least 516 Mya to 254.14 Mya. No occurrence read is dated outside 538.8 Mya to 251.902 Mya.

Cambrian — about 111 of 939 occurrencesCambrianOrdovician — about 318 of 939 occurrencesOrdovicianSilurian — about 76 of 939 occurrencesDevonian — about 136 of 939 occurrencesDevonianCarboniferous — about 179 of 939 occurrencesCarboniferousPermian — about 119 of 939 occurrencesPermianEarly Triassic — about 0 of 939 occurrencesMiddle Triassic — about 0 of 939 occurrences545–535 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences535–525 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences525–515 Mya — about 1 occurrence515–505 Mya — about 1 occurrence505–495 Mya — about 14 occurrences495–485 Mya — about 131 occurrences485–475 Mya — about 75 occurrences475–465 Mya — about 71 occurrences465–455 Mya — about 65 occurrences455–445 Mya — about 67 occurrences445–435 Mya — about 14 occurrences435–425 Mya — about 52 occurrences425–415 Mya — about 21 occurrences415–405 Mya — about 30 occurrences405–395 Mya — about 23 occurrences395–385 Mya — about 49 occurrences385–375 Mya — about 20 occurrences375–366 Mya — about 5 occurrences366–356 Mya — about 7 occurrences356–346 Mya — about 28 occurrences346–336 Mya — about 41 occurrences336–326 Mya — about 37 occurrences326–316 Mya — about 10 occurrences316–306 Mya — about 27 occurrences306–296 Mya — about 41 occurrences296–286 Mya — about 36 occurrences286–276 Mya — about 15 occurrences276–266 Mya — about 28 occurrences266–256 Mya — about 22 occurrences256–246 Mya — about 8 occurrences516 Mya254.14 Mya545 Mya246 Mya

939 occurrences of Rostroconchia on record, most of them in the Ordovician. The Paleobiology Database records this as a living group, and the chart stops with its fossils rather than at the present. 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

939 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

346 formations

Ninmaroo — 22.88°S, 138.45°ENinmaroo — 22.53°S, 140.35°ENinmaroo — 22.78°S, 140.38°ENinmaroo — 22.15°S, 140.15°ENinmaroo — 22.04°S, 140.02°ENinmaroo — 21.98°S, 140.05°ENinmaroo — 21.93°S, 140.10°ENinmaroo — 22.10°S, 140.07°ENinmaroo — 23.05°S, 139.23°ENinmaroo — 22.62°S, 140.33°ENinmaroo — 22.23°S, 140.25°ENinmaroo — 22.25°S, 140.26°ENinmaroo — 19.63°S, 140.23°ENinmaroo — 22.06°S, 138.91°ETomahawk — 22.00°S, 134.83°ETomahawk — 21.55°S, 133.88°ETomahawk — 23.75°S, 132.83°ETomahawk — 22.70°S, 133.05°ETomahawk — 22.42°S, 136.26°ETomahawk — 21.73°S, 136.38°ETomahawk — 22.27°S, 136.04°ETomahawk — 22.87°S, 136.27°ETomahawk — 22.90°S, 135.46°ETomahawk — 21.62°S, 136.51°ETomahawk — 22.15°S, 131.59°ETomahawk — 22.00°S, 134.92°ETomahawk — 22.67°S, 134.92°ETomahawk — 22.84°S, 135.82°ETomahawk — 22.47°S, 135.42°ETomahawk — 22.40°S, 136.22°ETomahawk — 22.42°S, 135.98°ETomahawk — 22.47°S, 136.77°ETomahawk — 21.95°S, 131.33°ETomahawk — 22.45°S, 136.95°ETomahawk — 22.06°S, 138.91°ETomahawk — 22.66°S, 137.02°EPacoota — 23.70°S, 133.43°EPacoota — 23.62°S, 134.50°EPacoota — 23.65°S, 134.43°EPacoota — 23.62°S, 134.55°EPacoota — 23.67°S, 134.33°EPacoota — 23.75°S, 133.33°EPacoota — 23.92°S, 132.81°EPacoota — 23.79°S, 134.78°EPacoota — 23.87°S, 134.86°EPacoota — 24.13°S, 132.98°EPacoota — 23.66°S, 134.49°EPacoota — 23.81°S, 133.78°EDelorme — 62.38°N, 127.00°WDelorme — 62.78°N, 125.25°WDelorme — 62.40°N, 127.07°WShakhtau Reef — 53.65°N, 56.07°EShakhtau Reef — 53.65°N, 56.09°EWan-wan-kou — 38.35°N, 125.43°EGraham — 33.02°N, 98.64°WGraham — 33.11°N, 98.59°WGraham — 33.03°N, 98.65°WGraham — 32.96°N, 98.76°WGraham — 31.50°N, 99.37°WGraham — 31.44°N, 99.34°WGraham — 32.73°N, 98.64°WGraham — 33.28°N, 98.10°WGraham — 33.25°N, 98.12°WCatoche — 48.55°N, 59.25°WCatoche — 51.63°N, 55.90°WCatoche — 48.51°N, 59.22°WCatoche — 50.72°N, 57.37°WCatoche — 50.73°N, 57.35°WCatoche — 48.54°N, 58.74°WCatoche — 50.74°N, 57.22°WCatoche — 50.76°N, 57.22°WCatoche — 50.37°N, 57.53°WColumbus Limestone — 40.52°N, 83.16°WColumbus Limestone — 40.21°N, 83.18°WColumbus Limestone — 40.11°N, 83.14°WZahorany — 50.00°N, 14.00°EZahorany — 49.48°N, 16.07°EZahorany — 49.99°N, 14.15°EZahorany — 50.04°N, 14.52°EZahorany — 49.48°N, 17.63°EZahorany — 50.07°N, 14.50°EZahorany — 50.08°N, 14.58°EBuffel — 25.37°S, 150.29°ESmithville — 37.31°N, 89.88°WSmithville — 37.30°N, 89.96°WSmithville — 37.41°N, 89.87°WSmithville — 37.29°N, 89.83°WSmithville — 37.16°N, 89.82°WSmithville — 36.10°N, 91.30°WNavas de Estena — 39.47°N, 4.48°WNavas de Estena — 39.00°N, 4.00°WNavas de Estena — 39.55°N, 4.24°WCuyahoga — 40.81°N, 81.94°WCuyahoga — 41.03°N, 82.08°WCuyahoga — 40.99°N, 81.99°WCuyahoga — 41.32°N, 81.63°WCuyahoga — 41.28°N, 81.75°WCuyahoga — 41.16°N, 81.83°WCuyahoga — 40.04°N, 82.40°WCuyahoga — 40.76°N, 82.52°WLandeyran — 43.47°N, 3.08°ELandeyran — 43.47°N, 3.04°ELandeyran — 43.57°N, 3.37°ESalem — 38.60°N, 86.02°WSalem — 39.19°N, 86.57°WSalem — 38.88°N, 90.18°WSalem — 38.24°N, 85.98°WCoolibah — 22.75°S, 138.39°ECoolibah — 22.63°S, 138.35°ECoolibah — 15.55°S, 130.96°ECoolibah — 22.52°S, 137.13°ECoolibah — 22.58°S, 137.92°ECoolibah — 22.66°S, 137.84°ENemda — 57.42°N, 48.94°ECalcaire d’Erbray — 47.66°N, 1.32°WLazy Bend — 32.05°N, 95.50°WLazy Bend — 32.54°N, 97.99°WValcour — 44.88°N, 73.34°WValcour — 44.62°N, 73.42°WValcour — 44.87°N, 73.48°WValcour — 44.40°N, 73.42°WValcour — 44.30°N, 73.31°WFlat Top — 24.85°S, 150.12°EFlat Top — 24.45°S, 150.18°EFlat Top — 24.16°S, 149.88°ETorquay — 50.47°N, 3.50°WBohdalec — 50.08°N, 14.47°EBohdalec — 50.00°N, 14.38°EBohdalec — 50.00°N, 14.00°E

Loading coastlines…

The named rock units Rostroconchia has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. 322 further formations hold fewer occurrences each and are not listed. 57 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Rostroconchia and its relatives

Ordovician

Where Rostroconchia and its relatives were recorded in the Ordovician.

Found in the same rock

3,977 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records 738 sites for Rostroconchia, 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

288 references

Each of the 939 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. 276 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 Rostroconchia

Credit
Peter J. Wagner Mithril
Licence
Public Domain
Commercial use
the licence allows it

No 3D scan of Rostroconchia was found in Sketchfab.

Smithsonian Open Access and MorphoSource were 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 itMollusca through timeFormations of the OrdovicianThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. Pojeta et al. 1972