Burrowing in the inarticulate brachiopod Lingula anatina
Abstract Lingula anatina from Cebu Island, the Philippines, is capable of reburrowing in silty sand (the native sediment) at all growth stages, including adults exceeding 50 mm in shell length. In addition, individuals up to 25 mm in shell length are capable of reburrowing in sediments ranging from silt to coral gravel. The reburrowing mechanism is comparable to that of the lingulid Glottida pyramidata. These findings strengthen the idea that the fundamental characteristics of the burrowing mechanism in the Lingulidae have remained essentially unchanged since the early Paleozoic.