A little help with this brachipod, please…

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  • #36367
    Nathan Newell
    Participant

    Hi, everybody! Can anybody help me with identifying this brachiopod? It’s in pretty good shape (at least, for the stuff I’ve found) and I’d love to know what species it is. The link below has more pics. Thanks!

    https://www.myfossil.org/fossils/36228/images/

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    #36372
    Charlie Smith
    Participant

    Hello Nathan,

    First of all, nice Brachiopod; I like how its perched on the matrix.  After searching on fossilworks.org for Rhynchonellata (Brachiopods) in the Tonoloway Limestone from West Virginia, it revealed 4 species: H. congregata, C. litchfieldensis, S. zanuxemi, and S. keyserensis. The last two species, both belonging to the genus Spirifer, seem to be the most likely candidates. Spirifer often shows a broad sulcus in the middle of the brachiopod, which is also shown in your fossil.  Out of these two species, I believe its Spirifer keyserensis, as Spirifer zanuxemi has been compared to a slightly more common Brachiopod, Spirifer cyclopterous, in this paper. However, the same paper contrasts the 2 by stating S. zanuxemi has less plications than S. cyclopterous.  Judging from this Yale specimen, S. Cyclopterous has much fewer plications than your fossil, so I doubt it is S. zanuxemi.

    #36373
    Nathan Newell
    Participant

    Wow! Thanks so much, @charlie-smith! And thanks for sharing your search process, that will help me with trying to ID fossils myself. 🙂

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