Cephalodiscida Explained

Cephalodiscida is one of two orders in the class Pterobranchia, which are small, worm-shaped animals. Members belong to the hemichordates.^{[1] [2]} Species in this order are sessile, living in clear water and secrete tubes on the ocean floor.^[3]

Taxonomy

The order is a small one, with only two known families, each containing a single extant genus. The validity of the family Atubaridae, who has only a sole member, is regarded as questionable.^[4]

• Order Cephalodiscida Fowler 1892^[5]
  • Family Cephalodiscidae Harmer 1905
    • Genus †Aellograptus Obut 1964
    • Genus †Eocephalodiscus Kozlowski 1938 ex Kozlowski 1949
    • Genus †Melanostrophus Öpik 1930 ex Öpik 1933
    • Genus †Pterobranchites Kozlowski 1967
    • Genus Atubaria Sato 1936
    • Genus Cephalodiscus M'Intosh 1882
  • Family †Rotaciurcidae Briggs and Koch 2023
    • Genus †Rotaciurca Briggs and Koch 2023

References

Harmer. S. F. 1905. The Pterobranchia ol the Siboga-Expedition. Siboga Exped. Monogr. 26. 1-131

Notes and References

1. http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/classification/Cephalodiscida.html animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu
2. http://www.eol.org/pages/8855 Eol.org
3. Shipley, A.E. (1902). Zoology: An Elementary Textbook. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
4. Halanych. K. M.. 1996-02-01. Convergence in the Feeding Apparatuses of Lophophorates and Pterobranch Hemichordates Revealed by 18S rDNA: An Interpretation. The Biological Bulletin. 190. 1. 1–5. 10.2307/1542669. 0006-3185.
5. Maletz . Jörg. The classification of the Pterobranchia (Cephalodiscida and Graptolithina) . Bulletin of Geosciences . 2014 . 89 . 3 . 477–540 . 10.3140/bull.geosci.1465 . 1214-1119. free .