Wednesday, January 1, 2025

Richthofenia permiana Brachiopod Fossil

 

This image is of a Richthofenia permiana brachiopod fossil. The animal existed in the Permian Period. Fossil was discovered in Texas, USA. Fossil was on display at the Natural History Museum Vienna (Naturhistorisches Museum Wien) on August 2024.

This fossil is very strange, just looking at it I would identify it as a horn coral but it is a brachiopod. The label in the museum listed it as "tütenförmiger Armfüßer" which translates to bag-shaped brachiopod.  Learn more about this fossil at the blog  Equatorial Minnesota and its relation to Benjamin Franklin Shumard (1820-1869) at medical doctor from Louisville who switched to paleontology. This fossil might be under the genus Prorichthofenia now.

https://equatorialminnesota.blogspot.com/2018/03/prorichthofenia-brachiopod-horn-corals.html