Colleplax – a structure present in chileate brachiopods.
It is a triangular plate in the umbonal region of the ventral valve, covering an area that is otherwise externally exposed through the resorption of a part of the ventral valve.[1] This aperture is supposed to have been covered by adhesive tissue,[2] but no similar structure exists in any living brachiopod, so other interpretations have also been proposed.[1]
References edit
- ^ a b Kaesler, Roger L. (1997). Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology. Part H, Brachiopoda (revised), Volume 1. Boulder (Colo.): Geological society of America. pp. 359, 360, 427. ISBN 978-0-8137-3108-7.
- ^ "The external surface of Dictyonella and of other pitted brachiopods | The Palaeontological Association". www.palass.org. Retrieved 2023-07-20.