Tentaculita is an extinct class of lophophorates ranging from the Early Ordovician to the Middle Jurassic. They were suspension feeders with a near worldwide distribution. For a more thorough discussion, see Tentaculites.
The presence of perforate septa and "septal necks" has been used to argue for a cephalopod affinity, whereas the shell microstructure, notably the presence of punctae, points to a brachiopod relationship, and preserved musculature suggests a relationship with bryozoans.
12N. M. Farsan. 1994. Tentaculiten: Ontogenese, Systematik, Phylogenese, Biostratonomie und Morphologie 547:1-128
↑O. Vinn, M.-A. Motus (2008). "The earliest endosymbiotic mineralized tubeworms from the Silurian of Podolia, Ukraine". Journal of Paleontology. 82 (2). doi:10.1666/07-056.1.
↑Vinn, Olev; Hambardzumyan, Tamara; Temereva, Elena; Grigoryan, Arayik; Tsatryan, Meline; Harutyunyan, Lusine; Asatryan, Karine; Serobyan, Vahram (2024). "Fossilized soft tissues in tentaculitids from the Upper Devonian of Armenia: Towards solving the mystery of their phylogenetic affinities". Palaeoworld. doi:10.1016/j.palwor.2024.10.004.
Farsan, N. M. (1994). Tentaculiten: Ontogenese, Systematik, Phylogenese, Biostratonomie und Morphologie. Abhandlungen der Senckenbergischen Naturforschenden Gesellschaft547: 1-128.