Neilonellidae Schileyko, 1989

Foster, William J., Danise, Silvia & Twitchett, Richard J., 2017, A silicified Early Triassic marine assemblage from Svalbard, Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 15 (10), pp. 851-877 : 858

Family Neilonellidae Schileyko, 1989

Diagnosis. Hinge plate with taxodont teeth in two series, sometimes separated by narrow, plain area, without resilifer; ligament predominantly external, opisthodetic to amphidetic, weak.

Remarks. The Neilonellidae are very similar to the Nuculanidae , but the lack of a resilifer in mature adults supports their separation ( Coan & Valentich-Scott 2012). The new specimens described herein differ from the Malletiidae in lacking conspicuous gapes, and from the Tindariidae in having a short gap in the dentition below the beaks ( Di Geronimo & La Perna 1997). The family is currently known from the Jurassic to the present in all oceans, especially in deep water and soft substrates ( Coan & Valentich-Scott 2012).