• Source: Rafinesquina

Rafinesquina is an extinct genus of large brachiopod that existed from the Darriwilian to the Ludlow epoch.
The genus was named in honor of polymath Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz.




Description


Rafinesquina's members were epifaunal, meaning they lived on top of the seafloor, not buried within it, and were suspension feeders. Rafinesquina normally have a concavo-convex profile, with radiating striae of alternating size which are crossed with finer concentric striae. 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.




Distribution


Rafinesquina specimens had a cosmopolitan distribution, and their fossils can be found in the Americas, Europe, and Asia.




Species


Species in the genus Rafinesquina include:




References

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Daftar genus brakiopoda
• Rafinesquina
• Tabulata
• Constantine Samuel Rafinesque
• 2024 in paleontology
• San Benito Formation, Bolivia
• List of the Paleozoic life of Georgia (U.S. state)
• List of the Paleozoic life of Virginia
• 2016 in paleontology
• Verulam Formation
• List of the Paleozoic life of New York (state)