Bivalve

Evolutionary history

Bivalve fossils can be formed when the sediment in which the shells are buried hardens into rock. Often, the impression made by the valves remains as the fossil rather than the valves. During the Early Ordovician, a great increase in the diversity of bivalve species occurred, and the dysodont, heterodont, and taxodont dentitions evolved. By the Early Silurian, the gills were becoming adapted for filter feeding, and during the Devonian and Carboniferous periods, siphons first appeared, which, with the newly developed muscular foot, allowed the animals to bury themselves deep in the sediment.