Aculifera (older name: Amphineura) is a clade of molluscs incorporating those groups that have no conch or shell, that is, the Polyplacophora, Caudofoveata and Solenogastres.[1] It is a sister group to the Conchifera. Monophyly of Aculifera is supported by fossil, anatomical and molecular studies.[2]
The oldest known aculiferan is Qaleruaqia, which was found in the Aftenstjernesø Formation in Greenland, which dates back to the Cambrian Stage 4.[3]
References
- ^ Sigwart, J. D.; Sutton, M. D. (Oct 2007). "Deep molluscan phylogeny: synthesis of palaeontological and neontological data". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 274 (1624): 2413–2419. doi:10.1098/rspb.2007.0701. PMC 2274978. PMID 17652065. For a summary, see "The Mollusca". University of California Museum of Paleontology. Retrieved 2 October 2008.
- ^ Chen, Zeyuan; Baeza, J. Antonio; Chen, Chong; Gonzalez, Maria Teresa; González, Vanessa Liz; et al. (2025). "A genome-based phylogeny for Mollusca is concordant with fossils and morphology". Science. 387 (6737): 1001–1007. doi:10.1126/science.ads0215. ISSN 0036-8075.
- ^ John S. Peel (2020). "The oldest palaeoloricate mollusc (Cambrian Series 2, Stage 4; North Greenland) and its bearing on aculiferan evolution". Bulletin of Geosciences. 95 (2): 127–144. doi:10.3140/bull.geosci.1779.