Chitinozoan - Appearance

Appearance

Chitinozoa range in length from around 50 to 2000 micrometres. They appear dark to almost opaque when viewed under an optical microscope. External ornamentation is often preserved on the surface of the fossils, in the form of hairs, loops or protrusions, which are sometimes as large as the chamber itself. The range and complexity of ornament increased with time, against a backdrop of decreasing organism size. The earliest Ordovician species were large and smooth-walled; by the mid-Ordovician a large and expanding variety of ornament, and of hollow appendages, was evident. While shorter appendages are generally solid, larger protrusions tend to be hollow, with some of the largest displaying a spongy internal structure. However, even hollow appendages leave no mark on the inner wall of the organisms: this may suggest that they were secreted or attached from the outside. There is some debate about the number of layers present in the organisms' walls: up to three layers have been reported, with the internal wall often ornamented; some specimens only appear to display one. The multitude of walls may indeed reflect the construction of the organism, but could be a result of the preservational process.

"Immature" or juvenile examples of Chitinozoans have not been found; this may suggest that they didn't "grow", that they were moults (unlikely), or that the fossilisable parts of the organism only formed after the developmental process was complete.

Most chitinozoans are found as isolated fossils, but chains of multiple tests, joined from aperture to base, have been reported from all genera. Very long chains tend to take the form of a spring. Occasionally, clusters or condensed chains are found, packed in an organic "cocoon".