Conulariida
| Conulariida Temporal range: Late Ediacaran-late Triassic, | |
|---|---|
| Conulariid from the Mississippian (c. 360 to 325 mya) of Indiana; scale in mm. | |
| Two Conularia gratiosa specimens from the Salem Limestone aged to the Middle Mississippian. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Cnidaria |
| Order: | †Conulatae |
| Clade: | †Conulariida Miller and Gurley, 1896 |
| Genera | |
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See text. | |
Conulariida are an extinct group of medusozoan cnidarians known from fossils spanning from the latest Ediacaran up until the Late Triassic. They are almost exclusively known from their hard external structures (alternatively referred to as a theca, periderm or test), which were pyramidal in shape and made up of numerous lamellae (thin layers). They are thought to have been sessile animals that grew with the narrower tip anchored to the seafloor, with the wider end bearing an array of tentacles used to ensnare prey.