Spirifer with lophophore

[Manticocerasman]

I was cleaning up my drawer with spiriferids from the Ardennes and I found a weathered one that I picked up for a particular reason.

The suport of the lophophore of the spiriferid is partially visible. this lophophore is the feeding apparatus of the brachiopods and looks like a ring with tentacles.

 

On spiriferids the lophophore suport is a typical spiral on both sides of the shell. The “spiral” is also the reason for the name of the fossil “Spirifer “= “Spiral-bearers”

 

 

 

I'd love to se some more brachiopods in tff-members collections with preserved lophophores

 

 

 

[TqB]

That's very nice and better than any that I've found. (The lophophore support is called the brachidium.)

 

I find quite a lot like this - a little Mississippian one about 1cm across, don't have an ID, from the Great Limestone, Co. Durham, UK. I've not seen a weathered out one so far.

They'd be good for serial sectioning.

 

And this is my favourite one, bought, - Eleutherokomma, U. Devonian from the Holy Cross Mountains in Poland. 25mm

 

[Fossildude19]

Cool examples, guys. 

I may have one somewhere. 

I will have to try to find it. 

[Al Dente]

As Manticocerasman pointed out, it is the lophophore support (called a brachidium) which is made of calcite and not the soft lophophore itself that normally preserves, but I do have an example where the outline of the actual lophophore is preserved. This happens with the genus Terebratulina that has calcite rods within the soft lophophore. I broke open this brachiopod and found the brachidium and lophophore. You can still see the small brachidium still inside and attached to the shell while the lophophore broke loose. This Terebratulina is from the Eocene Castle Hayne Formation from North Carolina.

[Kato]

Is there a particular age of formations where the probability of finding one of these increases?

 

Triassic and younger?

 

I didn't have my best glasses with me and thought I had stumbled across a rock with a number of crystal filled brachiopods in the lower Pennsylvanian. I took a photo of one thinking I had found lophophore. It turned out to be just a brachiopod with crystals inside. Most likely calcite due to appearance.

 

Learning lesson for newbies like me, this is NOT lophophore.

 

 

 

[Bullsnake]

This is an old picture I posted in TFF years ago.

The brachidium heavily coated with calcite.

[Guest11596]

Mucrospirifer from the Middle Devonian, Arkona Fm. (Southwestern Ontario) with exposed spiralium (spiral brachidium).

 

[minnbuckeye]

I enjoyed the pictures of lophophores. To be honest, I had to research what they were. Then to find out that bryozoans filter feed via lophophores like brachiopods. Here is a picture of such. Are there fossil examples in bryozoans?

 

 

 

 

Figure 23.11: Bryozoans Form Colonies (A) The extended lophophores of its individual members dominate the anatomy of this colonial bryozoan. (B) The rigid orange tissue of this marine bryozoan colony connects and supplies nutrients to thousands of individual animals.

 

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Lovely collection of brachidia folks! 

Like Tim, I have some somewhere but will need to try and find them and take photos. 

[Kato]

I am looking forward to seeing more pics! I'm more into plants than other collecting, but find lophophore structures very interesting. 

[Jackson g]

Wow amazing, being a brach man myself, I love the preserved innards here. I've shared the last 2 I found in my shells post, but they probably would belong better here.

[Shamalama]

Oh, I love it when I find the Brachidia intact in a fossil. Here is an old blog post with some that I've found:  https://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/2011/07/more-brachiopod-lophophore-supports.html

 

I'll have to dig out some additional specimens to post later.

[Shamalama]

As promised, here are some more specimens with brachidia exposed (some partially).

 

Athyris spiriferoides - Wanakah shale, Moscow formation, New York - The horizontal brachidia are just starting to peek out on the left side (viewer's right side).

 

 

Mucrospirifer thedfordensis (mucronautus) - Widder formation, Hungry Hollow, Ontario - Both sides of the horizontal brachidia are visible in this very eroded specimen.

 

 

Pseudoatrypa devonica - Jeffersonville formation, Louisville, Kentucky - Some members of the order Atrypida have their brachidia arranged vertically within the shell rather than horizontally.  Below you can see twinned brachidia within the crystallized shell. For perspective, you are viewing the fossil from the posterior (back or hinge line) position of the shell looking towards the anterior (front). The second picture  shows them visible through the crystal when it is wetted.  Now you are viewing the fossil from the side with the anterior to the left and posterior to the right.  Lastly is a view of the bottom of the fossil  with anterior to the top and posterior to the bottom.

[connorp]

Here is one of my favorite fossils in my collection. It is Heliomedusa orienta, a brachiopod from the Lower Cambrian Chengjiang biota. They are one of the most common fossils present, but many don't show any soft bodied preservation. However this specimen actually has the lophophore preserved, with quite beautiful coloring I might add.