Mucrospirifer

Mucrospirifer is a genus of extinct brachiopods in the class Rhynchonellata (Articulata) and the order Spiriferida. They are sometimes known as "butterfly shells". Like other brachiopods, they were filter feeders. These fossils occur mainly in Middle Devonian strata and appear to occur around the world, except in Australia and Antarctica.

Mucrospirifer

Wilson44691 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via Wikipedia/Commons. May be a photograph of a specimen, or an artist’s reconstruction — an interpretation of a skeleton, since colour and soft tissue are almost never preserved.

On record

Recorded, not inferred
Sits inside
MucrospiriferinaePBDB
Diet
suspension feederPBDB, for Spiriferida
Life habit
epifaunalPBDB, for Spiriferida
Motility
stationaryPBDB, for Spiriferida
Vision
blindPBDB, for Rhynchonellata
Environment
marinePBDB, for Lophophorata

Time the record covers

At least 51 million years on record.

The record covers at least 410.62 Mya to 358.86 Mya. No occurrence read is dated outside 419.62 Mya to 346.7 Mya.

Silurian — about 0 of 728 occurrencesDevonian — about 726 of 728 occurrencesDevonianCarboniferous — about 2 of 728 occurrencesCarboniferous421–419 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences419–416 Mya — about 0.4 occurrences416–413 Mya — about 0.4 occurrences413–411 Mya — about 0.4 occurrences411–408 Mya — about 0.5 occurrences408–406 Mya — about 0.5 occurrences406–403 Mya — about 0.5 occurrences403–401 Mya — about 0.5 occurrences401–398 Mya — about 0.7 occurrences398–396 Mya — about 0.9 occurrences396–393 Mya — about 2 occurrences393–391 Mya — about 12 occurrences391–388 Mya — about 21 occurrences388–386 Mya — about 235 occurrences386–383 Mya — about 260 occurrences383–381 Mya — about 108 occurrences381–378 Mya — about 25 occurrences378–376 Mya — about 20 occurrences376–373 Mya — about 20 occurrences373–371 Mya — about 9 occurrences371–368 Mya — about 2 occurrences368–365 Mya — about 0.6 occurrences365–363 Mya — about 3 occurrences363–360 Mya — about 3 occurrences360–358 Mya — about 2 occurrences358–355 Mya — about 0.4 occurrences355–353 Mya — about 0.4 occurrences353–350 Mya — about 0.4 occurrences350–348 Mya — about 0.4 occurrences348–345 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences410.62 Mya358.86 Mya421 Mya345 Mya

728 occurrences of Mucrospirifer on record, most of them in the Devonian. Bar height is expected occurrences, not a count: each fossil is spread across the span it is dated to, so a tall narrow bar means tight dating and a low wide one means loose.

When

728 occurrences

These are dates about fossils, not the animal: the record can only begin after it arose and end before it died out, so either end may reach further. Shares are expected occurrences: a fossil dated to a span is counted partly in each period it straddles. More on what this infers.

Found in

61 formations

Moscow — 42.70°N, 76.75°WMoscow — 42.88°N, 78.42°WMoscow — 42.77°N, 77.82°WMoscow — 42.78°N, 77.89°WMoscow — 42.71°N, 78.94°WMoscow — 42.82°N, 78.68°WMoscow — 42.90°N, 78.04°WMoscow — 42.59°N, 74.70°WMoscow — 42.56°N, 74.58°WMoscow — 42.57°N, 74.54°WMoscow — 42.75°N, 77.01°WMoscow — 42.83°N, 75.78°WMoscow — 42.67°N, 76.73°WMoscow — 42.82°N, 76.34°WMoscow — 42.79°N, 76.15°WMoscow — 42.80°N, 76.09°WMoscow — 42.83°N, 75.99°WMoscow — 42.81°N, 75.91°WMoscow — 42.66°N, 75.38°WMoscow — 42.59°N, 75.18°WMoscow — 42.76°N, 75.73°WMoscow — 42.68°N, 75.57°WMoscow — 42.67°N, 75.48°WMoscow — 42.62°N, 75.34°WMoscow — 42.65°N, 75.19°WMoscow — 42.58°N, 75.06°WMoscow — 42.60°N, 74.95°WMoscow — 42.59°N, 74.96°WMoscow — 42.55°N, 74.82°WMoscow — 42.52°N, 74.86°WMoscow — 42.57°N, 74.75°WMoscow — 42.53°N, 76.59°WMoscow — 42.82°N, 77.57°WMoscow — 42.78°N, 77.33°WMoscow — 42.67°N, 76.95°WMoscow — 42.55°N, 74.60°WMoscow — 42.55°N, 74.50°WLudlowville — 42.76°N, 78.65°WLudlowville — 42.78°N, 78.79°WLudlowville — 42.86°N, 77.76°WLudlowville — 42.83°N, 77.81°WLudlowville — 42.88°N, 78.57°WLudlowville — 42.96°N, 78.13°WLudlowville — 42.80°N, 77.27°WLudlowville — 42.78°N, 76.99°WLudlowville — 42.94°N, 78.13°WLudlowville — 42.90°N, 78.22°WLudlowville — 42.84°N, 77.90°WLudlowville — 42.95°N, 76.02°WLudlowville — 42.93°N, 76.00°WLudlowville — 42.85°N, 78.37°WLudlowville — 42.87°N, 77.87°WLudlowville — 43.00°N, 79.00°WLudlowville — 42.73°N, 76.71°WLudlowville — 42.89°N, 76.14°WLudlowville — 42.79°N, 75.56°WLudlowville — 42.81°N, 75.54°WLudlowville — 42.87°N, 75.71°WLudlowville — 42.76°N, 76.47°WLudlowville — 42.84°N, 76.25°WLudlowville — 42.83°N, 75.99°WLudlowville — 42.83°N, 75.89°WLudlowville — 42.74°N, 75.54°WGeneseo — 42.33°N, 74.45°WGeneseo — 42.67°N, 75.59°WGeneseo — 42.44°N, 74.54°WGeneseo — 42.65°N, 75.42°WGeneseo — 42.57°N, 75.34°WGeneseo — 42.58°N, 75.16°WGeneseo — 42.60°N, 75.01°WGeneseo — 42.53°N, 74.99°WGeneseo — 42.54°N, 74.81°WGeneseo — 42.56°N, 74.85°WGeneseo — 42.48°N, 74.61°WGeneseo — 42.62°N, 75.37°WGeneseo — 42.50°N, 75.52°WGeneseo — 42.53°N, 74.93°WGeneseo — 42.65°N, 75.86°WGeneseo — 42.51°N, 74.68°WGeneseo — 42.51°N, 75.13°WGeneseo — 42.60°N, 75.54°WGeneseo — 45.65°N, 75.39°WGeneseo — 42.64°N, 75.77°WGeneseo — 42.39°N, 74.43°WSkaneateles — 42.97°N, 76.44°WSkaneateles — 42.98°N, 76.34°WSkaneateles — 42.94°N, 76.25°WSkaneateles — 42.92°N, 76.21°WSkaneateles — 42.93°N, 75.99°WSkaneateles — 42.86°N, 75.89°WSkaneateles — 42.95°N, 75.88°WSkaneateles — 42.90°N, 75.60°WSkaneateles — 42.86°N, 76.14°WSkaneateles — 42.95°N, 76.43°WSkaneateles — 42.85°N, 75.58°WSkaneateles — 42.88°N, 75.52°WSkaneateles — 43.00°N, 75.41°WSkaneateles — 42.86°N, 75.42°WSkaneateles — 42.82°N, 75.40°WSkaneateles — 42.79°N, 75.27°WSkaneateles — 42.85°N, 75.18°WSkaneateles — 42.83°N, 75.02°WSkaneateles — 42.82°N, 75.10°WSkaneateles — 42.87°N, 77.88°WSkaneateles — 42.81°N, 76.81°WSilica — 41.72°N, 83.72°WSilica — 42.13°N, 83.60°WSilica — 42.33°N, 83.03°WSilica — 41.12°N, 84.85°WTriangle — 42.35°N, 75.89°WTriangle — 42.33°N, 75.85°WTriangle — 42.19°N, 75.87°WTriangle — 42.31°N, 75.60°WTriangle — 42.46°N, 75.47°WTriangle — 42.29°N, 75.46°WTriangle — 42.28°N, 76.02°WTriangle — 42.21°N, 75.79°WTriangle — 42.29°N, 75.43°WTriangle — 42.29°N, 75.29°WTriangle — 42.40°N, 75.31°WTriangle — 42.36°N, 75.50°WTriangle — 42.31°N, 75.19°WTriangle — 42.38°N, 75.58°WTriangle — 42.28°N, 75.71°WTriangle — 42.42°N, 75.86°WTriangle — 42.40°N, 75.77°WTriangle — 42.23°N, 76.18°WTriangle — 42.40°N, 76.02°WTully — 42.60°N, 75.34°WTully — 42.83°N, 75.78°WTully — 42.81°N, 75.91°WTully — 42.74°N, 75.88°WTully — 42.59°N, 75.18°WTully — 42.58°N, 75.05°WTully — 42.53°N, 75.09°WTully — 42.61°N, 74.98°WTully — 42.54°N, 74.81°WTully — 42.52°N, 74.86°WTully — 42.43°N, 74.50°WTully — 42.53°N, 76.59°WGlen Aubrey — 42.38°N, 75.58°WGlen Aubrey — 42.16°N, 75.83°WGlen Aubrey — 42.18°N, 75.54°WGlen Aubrey — 42.14°N, 75.90°WGlen Aubrey — 42.11°N, 75.85°WGlen Aubrey — 42.29°N, 75.60°WGlen Aubrey — 42.18°N, 75.90°WGlen Aubrey — 42.53°N, 76.11°WGlen Aubrey — 42.57°N, 76.13°WGlen Aubrey — 42.49°N, 76.03°WGlen Aubrey — 42.27°N, 76.24°WGlen Aubrey — 42.37°N, 76.35°WMahantango — 40.50°N, 77.25°WMahantango — 40.05°N, 77.52°WMahantango — 40.33°N, 77.17°WMahantango — 40.42°N, 77.17°WMahantango — 40.42°N, 77.00°WMahantango — 39.25°N, 78.86°WPotter Farm — 45.13°N, 83.10°WPotter Farm — 45.06°N, 83.43°WPotter Farm — 45.20°N, 83.39°WPotter Farm — 45.42°N, 83.81°WPotter Farm — 45.22°N, 83.66°WNorway Point — 45.13°N, 83.10°WNorway Point — 45.20°N, 83.39°WNorway Point — 45.42°N, 83.81°WNorway Point — 45.20°N, 83.73°WRongxian — 25.33°N, 110.26°EOnondaga — 42.18°N, 73.95°WOnondaga — 42.08°N, 73.97°WOnondaga — 42.26°N, 73.90°WOnondaga — 42.59°N, 74.93°WOnondaga — 42.00°N, 74.00°WOnondaga — 43.00°N, 75.00°WMarcellus — 42.90°N, 76.93°WMarcellus — 42.51°N, 74.05°WWilliams Island — 51.60°N, 85.42°WWilliams Island — 57.67°N, 85.28°WWilliams Island — 50.40°N, 81.56°WIthaca — 40.46°N, 77.17°WIthaca — 40.48°N, 77.13°WIthaca — 42.39°N, 76.51°WSolonchatskaya — 51.77°N, 59.10°EAouinet Ouenine II — 28.08°N, 13.00°EIdri — 27.50°N, 13.50°EIdri — 27.50°N, 13.10°EIdri — 27.40°N, 13.10°EThunder Bay — 45.22°N, 83.66°WBergfeld — 51.28°N, 7.68°EPortilla — 42.83°N, 5.65°WPortilla — 42.88°N, 5.12°EErere — 2.00°S, 54.00°WErere — 1.50°S, 55.00°WPort Refugio — 55.28°N, 133.32°W

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The named rock units Mucrospirifer has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. 37 further formations hold fewer occurrences each and are not listed. 15 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Mucrospirifer and its relatives

Devonian

Where Mucrospirifer and its relatives were recorded in the Devonian.

Found in the same rock

375 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records 551 sites for Mucrospirifer, and this reads 240 of them. The number is how many of those sites it was catalogued from too. The 24 sharing the most are listed.

This is not a list of everything alive at the time. It is only what has come out of the same ground as this animal and been written down.

Entered from

66 references

Each of the 728 occurrences read was entered from one of these publications, ordered by how many each accounts for. This is not a search for papers mentioning the name. 54 further references are not listed. Entries link to doi.org where the Paleobiology Database holds an identifier, and to its own record where it does not. Relayed as the Paleobiology Database holds them, not checked against what they resolve to.

Media and terms

Media content2

Picture of Mucrospirifer

Credit
Wilson44691
Licence
CC BY-SA 3.0
Commercial use
the licence allows it

3D model

Source
Sketchfab
Licence
CC0 Public Domain
Commercial use
the licence allows it

The description on this site

Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0

This is what the site found, which is not the same as what exists.

Keep going

What may have been alongside itMucrospiriferinae through timeFormations of the DevonianThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. Grabau 1931