Lopha is a genus of marine bivalve molluscs in the family of Ostreidae.
The genus Lopha is present from the Triassic period in the Lower Norian age (216.5 ± 2.0 – 203.6 ± 1.5 Mya) to the recent age.
Description Lopha species have thick, strongly ribbed shells with unequal valves. The margins of the valves have a characteristic zig-zag pattern. The lower valve shows finger-like outgrowths, by which the molluscs adhere to the substrate. These molluscs are stationary, epifaunal, suspension feeders, as they feed by filtering sea water to extract the nutrients.
Species Lopha affinis Sowerby, 1871 Lopha capsa Fischer von Waldheim, 1808 Lopha chemnitzii Hanley, 1846 Lopha cristagalli C. Linnaeus, 1758 Lopha frons C. Linnaeus, 1758 Lopha imbricata J. B. Lamarck, 1819 Lopha rosacea G. P. Deshayes, 1836
Fossil species Lopha gregarea, Oxfordian (stage) (160 mya) Lopha marshii (Sowerby, 1914), Bajocian (170 mya)
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References Biolib WoRMS Animal Diversity Paleobiology Database Sepkoski, Jack Sepkoski's Online Genus Database