Archaeocyatha
E779335
Archaeocyatha are an extinct group of early, reef-building, sponge-like marine organisms that thrived during the Cambrian period.
Statements (49)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
extinct marine organism
ⓘ
fossil taxon ⓘ reef-building organism ⓘ |
| associatedFauna |
small shelly fossils
ⓘ
trilobites ⓘ |
| bodyPlan |
conical body
ⓘ
cup-shaped body ⓘ |
| discoveryCentury | 19th century ⓘ |
| ecologicalRole |
filter feeder
ⓘ
reef builder ⓘ |
| environment | benthic ⓘ |
| extinctionPeriod | Middle Cambrian ⓘ |
| extinctionStatus | extinct ⓘ |
| feedingMode | suspension feeding ⓘ |
| firstAppearance | Early Cambrian ⓘ |
| fossilRecord | abundant in Cambrian limestones ⓘ |
| geographicDistribution | global Cambrian shallow seas ⓘ |
| growthForm |
colonial
ⓘ
solitary ⓘ |
| habitat |
continental shelf seas
ⓘ
shallow marine environment ⓘ |
| importance |
among the earliest reef-building animals
ⓘ
key index fossils for Early Cambrian ⓘ |
| kingdom | Animalia ⓘ |
| lastAppearance | Middle Cambrian ⓘ |
| livedDuring | Cambrian period NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| majorFossilLocality |
Australia
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Canada NERFINISHED ⓘ Morocco NERFINISHED ⓘ Siberia NERFINISHED ⓘ Spain NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| morphology |
double-walled structure
ⓘ
inner and outer walls separated by intervallum ⓘ perforated walls with pores ⓘ |
| paleoenvironmentalSignificance | indicators of warm, shallow, clear seas ⓘ |
| phylum | Porifera NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| porosityFunction | facilitated water circulation for feeding ⓘ |
| reefType | framework reefs ⓘ |
| relationshipToSponges |
often considered an early group of sponges
GENERATED
ⓘ
sponge-like GENERATED ⓘ |
| reproductionInference | likely reproduced by larvae similar to sponges ⓘ |
| scientificStudy | important for Cambrian biostratigraphy ⓘ |
| size | typically a few centimeters in height ⓘ |
| skeletonComposition | calcium carbonate ⓘ |
| skeletonType | porous calcareous skeleton ⓘ |
| taxonomicHistory |
formerly treated as a separate phylum
ⓘ
now commonly placed within Porifera ⓘ |
| taxonomicRank | class ⓘ |
| wallStructure | radial and vertical septa in intervallum ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.