Wednesday, May 1, 2024

Unknown Spiny Brachiopod in Black Shale


This fossil is quite interesting. It appears to a brachiopod with very long spines. The fossil is from the collection of the late Dr. James Conkin (1924-2017) and had no label with it. The fossil is in a black shale and the only shale found around the Louisville area is the New Albany shale. Fossils are rare in that shale and usually very small and not white colored. 

The brachiopod could be some sort of Productoid where the genus could be Pulchratia or Linoproductus. See University of Nebraska-Lincoln brachiopods of the Grant Shale web page. The Fossils of Parks Township web site shows a brachiopod called Antiquatonia portlockiana (Brew & Beus, 1976) and originally named Producti portlockianus (1855).

If anyone has suggestions of what this might be named or the locality it is from, please let me know. Thanks!