| Pulchratia Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Brachiopoda |
| Class: | † Strophomenata |
| Order: | † Productida |
| Family: | † Echinoconchidae |
| Tribe: | † Juresaniini |
| Genus: | † Pulchratia Muir-Wood & Cooper 1960 |
| Species | |
| |
Pulchratia is an extinct genus of brachiopods which lived in marine habitats during the Upper Carboniferous period. Its fossils have been found in North America. [1] [2] [3]
Like other echinoconchids, Pulchratia had recumbent spines arranged in irregular concentric bands, with the spines of this genus being mostly uniform in size and not having strong bases. It also has long lateral ridges which diverge from the hinge line. In these conditions it differs from the related Parajuresania , which has thicker posterior spines than anterior spines, and short cardinal ridges that parallel the hinge line, but otherwise the two genera are very similar. The buttress plates of Pulchratia are convergent, weak or entirely lost in adult specimens, while the lateral ridges are slightly divergent from the hinge. [1]
Fossil remains of Pulchratia are not known outside of North America, suggesting the genus may have been endemic to the continent. Remains of Pulchratia picuris have been found in the Watahomigi Formation of Arizona, [4] and those of Pulchratia symmetrica are known from the Graham Formation of Texas and Mattoon Formation of Illinois. [5] [6] Fossils from the Holder Formation of New Mexico have been assigned to Pulchratia aff. meeki. [7] Specimens attributed to Pulchratia sp. have been collected from the Four Corners, Sausbee, and Takhandit formations of Kentucky, Oklahoma and Alaska respectively. [8] [9] [10]
Muir-Wood & Cooper (1960) placed Pulchratia in the subfamily Echinoconchinae as they believed it lacked buttress plates. [2] However Lazarev (1982) noted that the genus did indeed possess buttress plates as a juvenile at least, and transferred it into Juresaniinae. [11] Leighton & Maples (2002) conducted multiple phylogenetic analyses which are strongly in agreement that the four subfamilies Buxtoniinae, Echinoconchinae, Pustulinae and Juresaniinae form the family Echinoconchidae, with Juresaniinae represented by Pulchratia and Parajuresania . The cladogram results of their phylogenetic analyses are displayed in the cladogram below: [12]
Strophomenida is an extinct order of articulate brachiopods which lived from the lower Ordovician period to the mid Carboniferous period. Strophomenida is part of the extinct class Strophomenata, and was the largest known order of brachiopods, encompassing over 400 genera. Some of the largest and heaviest known brachiopod species belong to this class. Strophomenids were among the most diverse and abundant brachiopods during the Ordovician, but their diversity was strongly impacted at the Late Ordovician mass extinction. Survivors rediversified into new morphologies in the Silurian, only to be impacted once again at the Late Devonian mass extinction. However, they still survived till the mid Carboniferous.
Brachiopods, phylum Brachiopoda, are a phylum of trochozoan animals that have hard "valves" (shells) on the upper and lower surfaces, unlike the left and right arrangement in bivalve molluscs. Brachiopod valves are hinged at the rear end, while the front can be opened for feeding or closed for protection. Two major categories are traditionally recognized, articulate and inarticulate brachiopods. The word "articulate" is used to describe the tooth-and-groove structures of the valve-hinge which is present in the articulate group, and absent from the inarticulate group. This is the leading diagnostic skeletal feature, by which the two main groups can be readily distinguished as fossils. Articulate brachiopods have toothed hinges and simple, vertically oriented opening and closing muscles. Conversely, inarticulate brachiopods have weak, untoothed hinges and a more complex system of vertical and oblique (diagonal) muscles used to keep the two valves aligned. In many brachiopods, a stalk-like pedicle projects from an opening near the hinge of one of the valves, known as the pedicle or ventral valve. The pedicle, when present, keeps the animal anchored to the seabed but clear of sediment which would obstruct the opening.
The Allegheny Group, often termed the Allegheny Formation, is a Pennsylvanian-age geological unit in the Appalachian Plateau. It is a major coal-bearing unit in the eastern United States, extending through western and central Pennsylvania, western Maryland and West Virginia, and southeastern Ohio. Fossils of fishes such as Bandringa are known from the Kittaning Formation, which is part of the Allegheny Group.
Rhynchonelliformea is a major subphylum and clade of brachiopods. It is roughly equivalent to the former class Articulata, which was used previously in brachiopod taxonomy up until the 1990s. These so-called articulated brachiopods have many anatomical differences relative to "inarticulate" brachiopods of the subphyla Linguliformea and Craniformea. Articulates have hard calcium carbonate shells with tongue-and-groove hinge articulations and separate sets of simple opening and closing muscles.
Paleontology in Oklahoma refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Oklahoma has a rich fossil record spanning all three eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. Oklahoma is the best source of Pennsylvanian fossils in the United States due to having an exceptionally complete geologic record of the epoch. From the Cambrian to the Devonian, all of Oklahoma was covered by a sea that would come to be home to creatures like brachiopods, bryozoans, graptolites and trilobites. During the Carboniferous, an expanse of coastal deltaic swamps formed in areas of the state where early tetrapods would leave behind footprints that would later fossilize. The sea withdrew altogether during the Permian period. Oklahoma was home a variety of insects as well as early amphibians and reptiles. Oklahoma stayed dry for most of the Mesozoic. During the Late Triassic, carnivorous dinosaurs left behind footprints that would later fossilize. During the Cretaceous, however, the state was mostly covered by the Western Interior Seaway, which was home to huge ammonites and other marine invertebrates. During the Cenozoic, Oklahoma became home to creatures like bison, camels, creodonts, and horses. During the Ice Age, the state was home to mammoths and mastodons. Local Native Americans are known to have used fossils for medicinal purposes. The Jurassic dinosaur Saurophaganax maximus is the Oklahoma state fossil.
The Norway Point Formation is a geologic formation in Michigan. It preserves fossils dating back to the middle Devonian period.
Productida is an extinct order of brachiopods in the extinct class Strophomenata. Members of Productida first appeared during the Silurian. They represented the most abundant group of brachiopods during the Permian period, accounting for 45-70% of all species. The vast majority of species went extinct during the Permian-Triassic extinction event, though a handful survived into the Early Triassic. Many productids are covered in hollow tubular spines, which are characteristic of the group. A number of functions for the spines have been proposed, including as a defensive mechanism against predators.
Kutorginates (Kutorginata) are an extinct class of early rhynchonelliform ("articulate") brachiopods. The class contains only a single order, Kutorginida (kutorginides). Kutorginides were among the earliest rhynchonelliforms, restricted to the lower-middle part of the Cambrian Period.
Schizophoria is an extinct genus of brachiopod belonging to the superfamily Enteletoidea. Specimens have been found in Devonian through Permian beds in North America, Australia, central and southeast Asia, and eastern Europe.
Diaphragmus is an extinct genus of brachiopod belonging to the order Productida and family Linoproductidae. Specimens have been found in Carboniferous beds in North America.
Linoproductoidea is an extinct superfamily of brachiopods which lived from the Devonian to Permian periods. Their fossils have been found in marine formations dating to those periods on all continents.
Productidae is an extinct family of brachiopods which lived from the Upper Devonian to Upper Permian periods in marine environments. It is the most diversified family in the suborder Productidina, with some 100 genera.
Echinoconchidae is an extinct family of brachiopods which lived from the Lower Carboniferous to Upper Permian periods in marine habitats. Currently, four subfamilies are assigned to it, though the evolutionary relationships between them and the family Productidae have been heavily debated for the better part of the 20th Century.
Echinoconchinae is an extinct subfamily of brachiopods which lived during the Carboniferous and Permian periods in marine habitats. The family had a cosmopolitan distribution.
Echinoconchus is an extinct genus of brachiopods which lived during the Lower Carboniferous period. The genus was abundant and had a cosmopolitan distribution.
Echinaria is an extinct genus of brachiopods which lived during the Upper Carboniferous and Lower Permian periods. Its fossils have been found in Eurasia, North America and northern South America.
Juresaniinae is an extinct subfamily of brachiopods which lived during the Carboniferous and Permian periods in marine habitats.
Pustulinae is an extinct subfamily of medium to large-sized brachiopods which lived during the Early Carboniferous period in marine habitats. It is named after the type genus Pustula.
Antiquatonia is an extinct genus of brachiopod belonging to the order Productida and family Productidae. Specimens have been found in Carboniferous beds across many continents, suggesting the genus had a cosmopolitan distribution. Species level taxonomy of Antiquatonia is in need of revision.
Pustula is an extinct genus of brachiopods which lived during the Carboniferous period. It is the type genus of the subfamily Pustulinae. Its fossils have been found in Eurasia, North America and northern Africa.
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