The Evolution of Brachiopoda

Abstract

Brachiopods are (perhaps all too) familiar to any geology student who has taken an invertebrate paleontology course; they may well be less familiar to biology students. Even though brachiopods are among the most significant components of the marine fossil record by virtue of their considerable diversity, abundance, and long evolutionary history, fewer than 500 species are extant. Reconciling the geological and biological perspectives is necessary in order to test hypotheses, not only about phylogenetic relationships among brachiopods but also about their spectacular decline in diversity in the end-Permian mass extinction, which permanently reset their evolutionary trajectory. Studying brachiopod ontogeny and development, population genetics, ecology, physiology, and biogeography, as well as molecular systematics and phylogenomics, enables us to better understand the context of evolutionary processes over the short term. Investigating brachiopod morphological, taxonomic, and stratigraphic records over the Phanerozoic Eon reveals historical patterns of long-term macroevolutionary change, patterns that are simply unknowable from a biological perspective alone.

Die fossilen Brachiopoden der Schweiz und der umliegenden Gebiete

“…This information is systematised so well that it makes this book a prime source of general knowledge of this group. The importance of this source is comparable to that of a review just published by Carlson (2016). Of course, knowledge gathered in the first part of the present book also facilitates understanding the second portion.…”

A Gondwanan perspective on the Ordovician Radiation constrains its temporal duration and suggests first wave of speciation, fuelled by Cambrian clades

“…However, globally, the earliest Iberian radiation can be correlated with the recovery of linguliformean faunas on all major Early Palaeozoic platforms during the mid-Tremadocian (P. deltifer conodont Zone)-mid-Floian (Oepikodus evae conodont Zone) interval (Harper et al 2004). According to Carlson (2016), this recovery mostly occurred within the Lingulida, Acrotretida and the Siphonotretida. The current study has only found taxa assigned to the Lingulida in Iberia at this time.…”

Palaeobiogeographical distribution of Orbiculoidea (Brachiopoda, Discinoidea) responding to global climatic and geographical changes during the Palaeozoic

“…), thus providing an advantage over most articulated brachiopods, which had calcareous shells and went extinct; and (2) Orbiculoidea developed an advanced feeding system according to Williams et al . (), both Discina and Discinisca (within the Family Discinidae Gray, ) possess a spirolophous lophophore, which is one of the most developed types in brachiopods (Carlson ). Thus, Orbiculoidea also probably had a spirolophous lophophore to help to generate inhalant and exhalant flows of water, trap particulate food material and remove waster products, which would have enhanced its chance of survival in the nutrient‐poor oceans.…”