Paraspirifer

Paraspirifer is a genus of large brachiopods (up to about 7.5 centimetres or 3.0 inches) that lived during the late Lower and Middle Devonian in what now are Germany, Spain, Morocco and the United States (New York State and Ohio).

Paraspirifer Temporal range: Emsian-Givetian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Paraspirifer bownockeri, 42mm
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Brachiopoda
Class:	Rhynchonellata
Order:	Spiriferida
Suborder:	Delthyridina
Superfamily:	Delthyridoidea
Family:	Hysterolitidae
Genus:	Paraspirifer Wedekind, 1926
species
P. cultrijugatus (Roemer, 1844) (type species) = Spirifer cultrijugatus P. acuminatus (Conrad, 1839) P. auriculatus (Sandberger, 1856) P. bownockeri Stewart, 1927 p. bucculentus Solle, 1971 P. chillonensis (Quintero & Revilla, 1966) = Histerolites chillonensis[1] P. curvatissimus Solle, 1971 P. eos Solle, 1971 P. globosa Solle, 1971 P. sandbergeri Solle, 1971

Taxonomy

Paraspirifer developed from Brachyspirifer during the early upper Emsian (cancellata-elegans/Dalehe Event).^[2]

Distribution

Paraspirifer originated in the lower upper Emsian and became extinct in Europe and Northern Africa at the end of the lower Eifelian. It survived into the Givetian in North America though.^[3]

• P. cultrijugatus is known from the Middle Devonian (Eifelian, Leudersdorf, near Üxheim, Eifel Hills, Germany).^[4]
• P. acuminatus occurs in the Middle Devonian of the United States (middle part of the Muscatatuck Group, Indiana)
• P. bownockeri is known from the Middle Devonian of the United States (Givetian of the Appalachian Basin: Lower Silica Formation, Western Ohio; Mount Marion Member of the Oatka Creek Formation and Mottville Member of the Skaneateles Formation, both Eastern and Central New York State).^[5]

Ecology

Natural cluster of Paraspirifer bownockeri from the Lower Silica Formation

From the type of deposits that contain Paraspirifer bownockeri it can be deduced that this species inhabited soft clay mudflats. Shells of this species hosted a wide range of epibionts, such as bryozoans, corals, echinoderms, annelid worms and other brachiopods. These epibionts are more numerous on the brachial valve than on the pedunculate valve, because this big brachiopod lay on its pedunculate valve after the degeneration of the stalk.^[6][7]

References

• Paleontology portal

1. Pardo Alonso, M.V. (2002). "Revisión de Paraspirifer chillonensis (Quintero y Revilla, 1966), del Devónico inferior de Almadén (España)" [A revision of Paraspirifer chillonensis (Quintero y Revilla, 1966), from the Lower Devonian of Almadén (Spain)] (PDF). Boletín Geológico y Minero. 113 (1): 71–84. ISSN 0366-0176.
2. May, Andreas; Avlar, Hüseyin (1995). "Evolution of Rhenisch faunal communities during the Late Emsian and Early Eifelian: three reviews on sedimentation, brachiopods and bioevents". Geolines. 3: 50–.
3. May, Andreas (2007). "Reply to the critical Review by Francesco de Soto on the paper of A. May "Radeastraea (Anthozoa, Rugosa) from the Emsian and Eifelian (Devonian) of Aviados, Northern Spain" (PDF). Bulletin of Geosciences. 82 (3): 293–296. doi:10.3140/bull.geosci.2007.03.293.
4. Detlev. "Paraspirifer cultrijugatus". Brachiopoda - Forum Français sur les brachiopodes fossiles et actuels. Retrieved 2014-02-25.
5. Bartholomew, A.E .; Brett, C. E. (2007). "Correlation of Middle Devonian Hamilton Group-equivalent strata in east-central North America: implications of eustacy, tectonics and faunal provinciality". Devonian Events and Correlations. Geological Society special publication. 278 (278): 105. Bibcode:2007GSLSP.278..105B. doi:10.1144/SP278.5. ISBN 978-1-86239-222-9.
6. Kesling, Robert V.; Hoare, Richard D.; Sparks, Diane K. (1980). "Epizoans of the Middle Devonian brachiopod Paraspirifer bownockeri: their relationship to one another and their host". Journal of Paleontology. 54 (6): 1141–1154. JSTOR 1304240.
7. Hoare, Richard D.; Walden, R. L. (June 1983). "Vermiforichnus (Polychaeta) Borings in Paraspirifer bownockeri (Brachiopoda: Devonian)" (PDF). Ohio Journal of Science. 83 (3): 114–119. hdl:1811/22930.