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Class Articulata These are sea floor dwellers (benthic). Like all brachiopods, Productus, Pugnax, Rhynchonella and Schizophoria possess two separate calcareous valves - the brachial valve and the pedicle valve (a fleshy pedicle protrudes through a hole in the Pedicle valve, whilst the lophophore, or nutrient-gathering apparatus is attached to the brachial valve). The means of connecting the valves together give rise to the terms Articulata (physical attachment) and Inarticulata (muscle-attachment). The brachiopods differentiate themselves from bivalves by having their plane of symmetry about a medial plane. |
