Rafinesquina Explained
Rafinesquina is an extinct genus of large brachiopod that existed from the Darriwilian to the Ludlow epoch.[1]
The genus was named in honor of polymath Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz.[2]
Description
Rafinesquina's members were epifaunal, meaning they lived on top of the seafloor, not buried within it, and were suspension feeders.[3] Rafinesquina normally have a concavo-convex profile, with radiating striae of alternating size which are crossed with finer concentric striae.[3] Their width is usually greater than their length, like most Strophomenids. Members of this genus had shells that grew in increments, with each increment forming a layer of the shell (much like trees do with their rings). In 1982, Gary D. Rosenberg analyzed specimens of Rafinesquina alternata previously inferred to have lived in a shallow subtidal environment and proposed it could be possible to estimate the total number of days in a lunar month (the period between full moons) during the Late Ordovician using layer counting.[4]
Distribution
Rafinesquina specimens had a cosmopolitan distribution, and their fossils can be found in the Americas, Europe, and Asia.[1] [5] [6] [7]
Species
Species in the genus Rafinesquina include:[6] [7] [8]
- R. alternata (Conrad, 1838)
- R. declivis (James, 1874)
- R. delicata Williams, 1974
- R. deltoidea (Conrad, 1838)
- R. insidiosa Williams, 1962
- R. jeffersonensis Bradley, 1930
- R. latisculptilus (Savage, 1913)
- R. lignani Vilas, 1985
- R. mesicosta Shumard, 1860
- R. mucronata Foerste, 1914
- R. nasuta (Emmons, 1842)
- R. oanduensis Oraspold, 1956
- R. orvikui Oraspold, 1956
- R. percensis Cooper and Kindle, 1936
- R. planulata Cooper, 1956
- R. ponderosa Hayes and Ulrich, 1903
- R. pseudoloricata (Barrande, 1848)
- R. relicula Benedetto, 1995
- R. stropheodontoides (Savage, 1913)
- R. trentonensis (Hall, 1847)
- R. ultrix Marek and Havlíček, 1967
- R. urbicola Marek and Havlíček, 1967
Notes and References
- Colmenar . Jorge . Ordovician rafinesquinine brachiopods from peri-Gondwana . Acta Palaeontologica Polonica . 2016 . 61 . 2 . 293–326 . 10.4202/app.00102.2014 . 54862401 . 26 March 2020. free .
- Book: Thompson . Ida . National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Fossils . September 1982 . Alfred a Knopf Inc . New York . 978-0-394-52412-2 . 650–651 .
- Web site: Stigall . Alycia . Rafinesquina . Atlas of Ordovician Life . 16 October 2013 . National Science Foundation . 26 March 2020.
- Rosenberg . Gary . Growth rhythms in the brachiopod Rafinesquina alternata from the Late Ordovician of southeastern Indiana . Paleobiology . 1982 . 8 . 4 . 389–401 . 10.1017/S0094837300007132 . 1982Pbio....8..389R . 131583623 . 12 April 2020.
- https://www.gbif.org/species/4866517 Global Biodiversity Information Facility
- https://paleobiodb.org/classic/basicTaxonInfo?taxon_no=27866 Paleobiology Database
- http://www.fossilworks.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?action=home Fossilworks
- http://www.catalogueoflife.org/annual-checklist/2019/browse/tree/id/a46215ccac957d327beae93d4a649dea Catalog of Life
