Lingulata

Lingulata is a class of brachiopods with phosphatic shells and a long, fleshy pedicle. Living members include the genera Lingula and Glottidia.

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Brachiopod: A marine invertebrate with two shell valves arranged on the dorsal and ventral sides of its body. Lingulata is one class within this animal phylum.
Infauna: Animals that live within the sediment of a body of water. Many lingulates occupy burrows in soft marine sediment.
Lingula: A genus of living brachiopods with elongated, phosphatic shells and long pedicles. Lingula is a familiar living representative of Lingulata.
Brachiopod evolution: The evolutionary history and diversification of the brachiopod phylum. Lingulata represents a long-lived branch within brachiopod history.
Rhynchonellata: A major class of brachiopods whose shells are typically calcitic and joined by a hinge. Its predominantly calcitic, hinged shells contrast with the phosphatic, toothless valves of lingulates.
Phosphatic shell: A shell containing calcium phosphate as a major mineral component. Lingulate shells are distinctive among living brachiopods for their phosphatic composition.
Suspension feeding: A feeding strategy that captures food particles suspended in water. The lophophore collects particles carried through the water around a lingulate.
Glottidia: A genus of living lingulate brachiopods found in coastal marine habitats. Glottidia is the other living genus named in the class's modern representatives.
Cambrian: The first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, spanning about 541 to 485 million years ago. The oldest known lingulate fossils extend back into the Cambrian.
Craniata: A class of brachiopods that includes forms with shells cemented directly to hard surfaces. Craniates differ from lingulates in shell composition and their often cemented mode of attachment.