Sunday, May 31, 2009

Brachiopod Paraspirifer bownockeri and Spinocyrtia

In addition to the New Albany Shale plants, brachiopods from Sylvania, Ohio (Lucas County) were brought in. These brachiopods have a really convex top shell that remind me of a shark fin. This one is called the Paraspirifer bownockeri found in the Silca Formation. It is from the Devonian period.
I think the red is pyritized part of the shell. Update: These last two pictures are of a brachiopod called Spinocyrtia.


3 comments:

Shamalama said...

Nice clean up! the pyrite shows through very nicely. I think the third and fourth pictures are of Spinocyrtia. Look at the width of the interarea along the hinge on the back.

Michael Popp said...

I just cleaned them with water and a toothbrush. Should I use white vinegar on these to bring out the pyrite?

Thanks for the identification of the second brachiopod. I will update this entry soon to note that name.

Anonymous said...

Photo 3 is the only Spinocyrtia, not photo 4. That one is still a Paraspirifer, just not a robust one.