Lingulid brachiopod in black shale (Allegheny Group, Middle Pennsylvanian; Flint Ridge, Ohio, USA)

Description:

Description: English: Lingulid brachiopod in black shale from the Pennsylvanian of Ohio, USA. The light-colored, ovoidal object in the lower left portion of this rock is a lingulid inarticulate brachiopod (click on the picture once or twice to zoom in). Lingulids first appear in Cambrian rocks and are still alive in today's oceans. They have a two-part, chitinophosphatic shell. The shells are subtriangular to elongated/tongue-shaped. Apart from concentric growth lines, they have no shell ornamentation. Soft parts are present between the shells and a long, vermiform pedicle extends from between the shells and into soft sediments. Lingulids are infaunal, filter-feeding organisms and occupy shallow shelf to intertidal zone environments. Fossil lingulids can be associated with burrows/trace fossils - in other words, lingulid brachiopod fossils are sometimes found in-situ, at the bottoms of their original living burrows. Classification: Animalia, Brachiopoda, Inarticulata (a.k.a. "Linguliformea"), Lingulida, Lingulidae Stratigraphy: float from shales below the Vanport Limestone, Allegheny Group, Desmoinesian, upper Middle Pennsylvanian Locality: loose piece from roadcut along the western side of Brownsville Road (= Route 668), immediately north of its intersection with Bear Hollow Road, north of Flint Ridge Road, Flint Ridge, Hopewell Township, southeastern Licking County, east-central Ohio, USA (39° 59' 33.56" North latitude, 82° 15' 48.72" West longitude). Date: 30 May 2020, 14:51:25. Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/47445767@N05/49954290711/. Author: James St. John.