Yochelcionella is an extinct genus of basal molluscs which lived during the Tommotian epoch, the first epoch of the Cambrian period. This genus is often reconstructed to resemble snails.
Yochelcionella is the type genus of the family Yochelcionellidae.
Description
This genus of molluscs possessed shells which were shaped like curved caps, with an exhaust pipe shaped "snorkel" emanating underneath where the apex (point of the shell) curves over. It is believed that the "snorkel" was used in breathing, allowing waste water to flow away from the gills.
Taxonomy When they were first discovered, they were originally thought to be monoplacophorans. Their snorkel may represent a move towards a tubular shell, such as is seen in the modern scaphopods. It has also been interpreted as a precursor to the cephalopod funnel or siphuncle.
The taxonomy of the Gastropoda by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005Bouchet P. & Rocroi J.-P. (Ed.); Frýda J., Hausdorf B., Ponder W., Valdes A. & Warén A. 2005. Classification and nomenclator of gastropod families. Malacologia: International Journal of Malacology, 47(1-2). ConchBooks: Hackenheim, Germany. . . 397 pp. http://www.vliz.be/Vmdcdata/imis2/ref.php?refid=78278 categorizes Yochelcionella in the family Yochelcionellidae within the superfamilia Yochelcionelloidea within the Paleozoic molluscs of uncertain position within Mollusca (Gastropoda or Monoplacophora).
For an alternate 2007-2007 taxonomy by P. Yu. Parkhae see Helcionelloida.
Species Species in the genus Yochelcionella include: Yochelcionella americana Runnegar & Pojeta, 1980 Yochelcionella angustiplicata Yochelcionella chinensis Pei, 1985 Yochelcionella crassa Zhegallo in Esakova et Zhegallo, 1996 Yochelcionella cyrano Runnegar and Pojeta 1974 type species. Its type locality is ANU Collection 10352, 16 km northeast of Mootwingee Aboriginal Site, which is in a Solvan carbonate limestone in the Coonigan Formation of Australia.. Yochelcionella daleki Yochelcionella erecta (Walcott, 1891)Atkins C. J. & Peel J. S. (2008). "Yochelcionella (Mollusca, Helcionelloida) from the lower Cambrian of North America". Bulletin of Geosciences 83(1): 23-38 (8 figures). . Yochelcionella gracilis Atkins & Peel, 2004 Yochelcionella greenlandica Atkins & Peel, 2004 Yochelcionella ostentata Yochelcionella saginata Vendrasco et al., 2010 Yochelcionella snorkorum Vendrasco et al., 2010Vendrasco M. J., Porter S. M., Kouchinsky A., Li G. & Fernandez C. Z. (2010). "New data on molluscs and their shell microstructures from the Middle Cambrian Gowers Formation, Australia". Palaeontology 53(1): 97-135. .
References
External links Yochelcionellidae Palaeos Hellicionelloida Palaeos Cladogram