Abstract
Skeletons serve two primary biologic functions: they provide structural support (and muscle attachment) and protection for the organism. Skeletal components can also serve other purposes, such as in attachment of the organism to the substrate (for example the basal plate of cirripeds) or in feeding (the radulae of gastropods). Skeletons can be comprised of many minerals (including magnetite, goethite and fluorite) but most skeletons are composed of calcium carbonate, opaline-silica or calcium phosphate. Opaline-silica skeletons generally are restricted to the more primitive plants (such as diatoms) and animals (sarcodinans and poriferans), while calcium phosphate skeletons are best represented in the phyla Arthropoda and Vertebrata.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1974 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Milliman, J.D., Müller, G., Förstner, U. (1974). Skeletal Components. In: Recent Sedimentary Carbonates. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-65528-9_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-65528-9_4
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-65530-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-65528-9
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive