Gigantoproductus

Gigantoproductus
Temporal range: Carboniferous,
~
Gigantoproductus sp. (discovered near Seahouses, Northumberland, UK)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Brachiopoda
Class:
†Strophomenata
Order:
†Productida
Family:
†Monticuliferidae
Subfamily:
†Gigantoproductinae
Tribe:
†Gigantoproductini
Genus:
†Gigantoproductus

Prentice, 1950
Species
  • †Gigantoproductus crassus
  • †Gigantoproductus giganteus
  • †Gigantoproductus elongatus
  • †Gigantoproductus inflatus
  • †Gigantoproductus sinuatus
  • †Gigantoproductus striato-sulcatus

Gigantoproductus is a genus of extinct brachiopods in the order Productida and the family Monticuliferidae. The species were the largest of the carboniferous brachiopods, with the largest known species (Gigantoproductus giganteus) reaching 30 cm (12 in) in shell width. Such huge invertebrates appeared in the Mississippian as the proportion of oxygen in the atmosphere began to rise. The earliest members of the Productida date back to the Silurian period, and Gigantoproductus is known to have existed between 339.4 to 318.1 million years ago, during the Carboniferous period. As fossils, their shells occur within a limestone matrix.

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