Primitiveness of submarine cave mollusks

Tropical to subtropical, shallow-water submarine caves have attracted much attention since the discovery of the living fossil coralline sponges. Molluscan communities in the submarine caves of northwestern Pacific islands also include some living fossil species of great geologic past. Shell forms of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inFossils Vol. 57; pp. 31 - 36
Main Authors Kase, Tomoki, Hayami, Itaru
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Japanese
Published Palaeontological Society of Japan 30.11.1994
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Summary:Tropical to subtropical, shallow-water submarine caves have attracted much attention since the discovery of the living fossil coralline sponges. Molluscan communities in the submarine caves of northwestern Pacific islands also include some living fossil species of great geologic past. Shell forms of the gastropods and bivalves in the submarine caves and life styles of the bivalves are anachronistic as in the Paleozoic and Mesozoic. Predators are sparse and their activities are infrequent in the submarine caves. The living fossil mollusks seem to have remained there by taking refuge from their competitors or enemies in open shallow marine habitats.
ISSN:0022-9202
2424-2632
DOI:10.14825/kaseki.57.0_31