Conchifera is a

subphylum In zoological nomenclature, a subphylum is a taxonomic rank below the rank of phylum. The taxonomic rank of " subdivision" in fungi and plant taxonomy is equivalent to "subphylum" in zoological taxonomy. Some plant taxonomists have also used t ...

of the phylum Mollusca. It comprises all of the

shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard o ...

-bearing

class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differently ...

es of molluscs, such as clams, tusk shells, ammonites, and monoplacophorans. The other subphylum is Aculifera. Non-monoplacophoran conchiferans emerged within the once-widespread Monoplacophora. The only descendant which retains its ancestral shape is the

Tryblidiida Tryblidiida is a taxon of monoplacophoran molluscans containing the only extant representatives: 37 species are still alive today, inhabiting the ocean at depths of between . History of discoveries The first captured living monoplacophoran was ...

. This taxonomic term is used mostly by

paleontologist Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of foss ...

s, and not by scientists who study the living molluscs.

Classes

Classes within the Conchifera include: *

Monoplacophora Monoplacophora , meaning "bearing one plate", is a polyphyletic superclass of molluscs with a cap-like shell inhabiting deep sea environments . Extant representatives were not recognized as such until 1952; previously they were known only from ...

Bivalvia 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. As a group, biv ...

* Gastropoda * Scaphopoda *

Cephalopoda A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan class Cephalopoda (Greek plural , ; "head-feet") such as a squid, octopus, cuttlefish, or nautilus. These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral body symmetry, a prominent head, ...

* Archinacelloidea† *

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 ...

† *

Helcionelloida Helcionelloida is an extinct group of ancient molluscs (phylum Mollusca). These are the oldest known conchiferan molluscs, that is, they had a mineralised shell. Some members of this class were mistaken for Monoplacophorans. The class was ere ...

†

References

External links

BioLib info
{{Authority control Mollusc taxonomy Animal subphyla Prehistoric mollusc taxonomy

Classes

See also

References

External links