Fossil ID brachiopod

[carolinej]

Hi all,

I am hoping to know what type of brachiopod this is below. It is found in Lower Carboniferous limestone in the NW of Ireland.

The fossil appears to have possibly short ridges on the costae? This is the best example I could find.

 

Thanks

 

 

 

 

[Max-fossils]

Hi again,

 

Brachiopod could be possible, but I wouldn;t be sure...

To certify this, it would be wise to slightly prep the area between the ruler and the brachiopod to try and find a hinge.

Then prepping some more around it will probably be useful too for narrowing it down to genus/species.

 

Best regards,

 

Max

[TqB]

Looks like a productid of some sort but there's a bewildering number of them beyond "Productus" - a specialist is probably needed to get a safe ID.

[coled18]

Looks like a Reticulatia fossil. I cant be 100% sure, but I have found several species of Reticulatia nearby where I live, all from the late Carboniferous, so the time period is about the same. 

[westcoast]

I agree with TqB: Productid brachiopod. Is the scale measure in inches or cm?

[caldigger]

4 minutes ago, westcoast said:

I agree with TqB: Productid brachiopod. Is the scale measure in inches or cm?

I'm going to venture cm. Since there are ten increments (mm) between numbers.

[westcoast]

1 hour ago, caldigger said:

I'm going to venture cm. Since there are ten increments (mm) between numbers.

Doh!

[Nimravis]

By no means am I a brachiopod expert, but your fossil looks similar to some Pennsylvanian brachiopods that I collected yesterday that I tentatively identified as Juresania nebrascensis. It is a type that has been found in the area that I was collecting. I did write a trip report titled "A quick trip to a couple road cuts near Oglsby, Illinois". The second site mentioned shows some examples and I included two below. Again it is a shot in the dark on a possible ID.

 

 

 

[doushantuo]

I think you mean another taxon with pretty similar spelling

[carolinej]

Thanks for the help. I will look into Productid brachiopods. I also have another brachiopod from the same location and age, is this also a productid type?

 

[Bullsnake]

1 hour ago, carolinej said:

Thanks for the help. I will look into Productid brachiopods. I also have another brachiopod from the same location and age, is this also a productid type?

 

 

I would venture to say so.

Not to identify as such, but looks similar to Linoproductus.

[FossilDAWG]

Identification of productid brachiopods is notoriously challenging.  However to have a decent chance one has to be able to see the beak area and the exterior of the hinge, which are covered in both your specimens.  Identification often hinges (so to speak) on the form of the ornament and the number/placement of spines.  The fauna from the lower Carboniferous of Ireland has been extensively worked on so your best bet (or at least starting point) is to try to find published works on the brachiopod fauna.  Google Scholar is usually a good search engine for finding these publications.

 

Don

[westcoast]

Totally agree with fossilDawg, exterior ornament not sufficient for good ID. If you can say which formation you are finding these brachiopods it would help. It is similar to some Gigantoproductus species such a G. edelbergensis which has been recorded from the Visean of Ireland. 

[piranha]

Send the photos to Bernard Mottequin.  He is one of the leading experts on Irish brachiopods.  LINK