Tentaculita

Classification
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Tentaculita (Boucek, 1964)
Cincinnatian Families: Cornulitidae, Tentaculitidae

Geologic RangeResponsive Pro Options
Cambrian – Carboniferous

Common Paleoecology
Tentaculita is an extinct class of stationary semi-infaunal suspension feeders

Characteristics of the Class

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Farsan (2005):

Tentaculitids with a calcareous cone that varies from several millimeters to several centimeters in size, with a conical shape and round or polyhedral cross section in post-larval stages. The primary shell is composed of three layers consisting of the initial, subsequent and final layers. The early ontogenic parts have two different modes of construction (Fig. 14): The first begins with differentiated larval parts, closed at the apical end, showing a distinct biologic metamorphosis; alternately, the cone passes through an embryonic stage with no obvious postembryonic differentiation. Transverse or/and longitudinal sculpture are present, and secondary shell, pseudopuncta and septa are sometimes present. Microstructure of the shell is lamellar, sigmoidal or nacreous

Boucek (1964)

An extinct palaeozoic class of marine organism with small (from a fraction of 1mm to 80mm) calcareous shell-tube. The tubes are usually straight, but sometimes slightly curve, or in some cases they are attached to foreign bodies-even irregular or deformed. Cross-section circular, thus symmetry being generally radial. Aperture diagonal, as wide as the tubes, without operculum. Mostly vagrant benthic, nektobenthic or plantonic-pelagic, sometimes sessile, attached to the substrate or some foreign shells.

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Cornulitidae

Tentaculitidae