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The Permian Portal

Introduction

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Selected article on the Permian world and its legacies

Bivalvia is a class of marine and freshwater molluscs with laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell in two hinged parts. Bivalves include clams, oysters, mussels, scallops, and numerous other families of shells. The majority are filter feeders. Most bivalves bury themselves in sediment on the seabed, where they are safe from predation. Others lie on the sea floor or attach themselves to rocks or other hard surfaces. Some bivalves, such as the scallops, can swim.

The shell of a bivalve is composed of calcium carbonate, and consists of two, usually similar, parts called valves. These are joined together along one edge by a flexible ligament that, in conjunction with interlocking "teeth" on each of the valves, forms the hinge. The shell is typically bilaterally symmetrical, with the hinge lying in the sagittal plane. Adult shell sizes vary from fractions of a millimetre to over a metre in length, but the majority of species do not exceed 10 cm (4 in).

Bivalves appear in the fossil record first in the early Cambrian more than 500 million years ago. The total number of living species is approximately 9,200. These species are placed within 1,260 genera and 106 families. Marine bivalves (including brackish water and estuarine species) represent about 8,000 species, combined in four subclasses and 99 families with 1,100 genera. The largestrecent marine family is the Veneridae, with more than 680 species. (see more...)

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Did you know?

... that the recently described synapsid Raranimus (pictured) is the most basal member of the order Therapsida, from which mammals are a descendant taxon?
... that the specific name of Tambachia trogallas, the type species of the trematopid temnospondyl Tambachia, refers to the Thuringian bratwurst that was frequently eaten by the describers of the species?
... that the Early Permian microsaur Rhynchonkos (pictured) shares many similarities with Eocaecilia, and may be an ancestor of caecilians?
... that the parareptile Eunotosaurus (restoration pictured) was once widely accepted as a transitional form between turtles and their prehistoric ancestors?
... that extinct diadectid reptiliomorphs (life restoration pictured) were the first large herbivorous land animals?

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Selected image

Skull of Casea broilli, Late Permian pelycosaur synapsid. Very large parietal foramen is seen.
Photo credit: Samuel Wendell Williston (1851–1918)

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Selected article on the Permian in human science, culture and economics

Paleontology or palaeontology (/ˌpeɪliɒnˈtɒlədʒi, ˌpæli-, -ən-/) is the scientific study of prehistoric life. It includes the study of fossils to determine organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environments (their paleoecology). As a "historical science" it attempts to explain causes rather than conduct experiments to observe effects. Paleontological observations have been documented as far back as the 5th century BC. The science became established in the 18th century as a result of Georges Cuvier's work on comparative anatomy, and developed rapidly in the 19th century. The term itself originates from Greek: παλαιός (palaios) meaning "old, ancient," ὄν, ὀντ- (on, ont-), meaning "being, creature" and λόγος (logos), meaning "speech, thought, study".

Paleontology lies on the border between biology and geology. It now uses techniques drawn from a wide range of sciences, including biochemistry, mathematics and engineering. Use of all these techniques has enabled paleontologists to discover much of the evolutionary history of life, almost all the way back to when Earth became capable of supporting life, about 3,800 million years ago. As knowledge has increased, paleontology has developed specialized sub-divisions, some of which focus on different types of fossil organisms while others study ecology and environmental history, such as ancient climates. Body fossils and trace fossils are the principal types of evidence about ancient life, and geochemical evidence has helped to decipher the evolution of life before there were organisms large enough to leave fossils. (see more...)