Image: Oleneothyris harlani (fossil brachiopod) (Tertiary; New Egypt, New Jersery, USA) 7

Description: Oleneothyris harlani (Morton, 1828) - fossil brachiopod in the Ordovician of Kentucky, USA. (lateral view; dorsal valve at top & ventral valve at bottom; ~5.05 centimeters across at its widest) Brachiopods are sessile, benthic, filter-feeding, marine invertebrates. They first appear in Cambrian rocks and were abundant in Earth's oceans throughout the Paleozoic. They were also common in Mesozoic oceans, but are scarce in modern oceanic biotas. Brachiopods have two shells, called valves, that are usually calcareous (made of calcite - CaCO3 - calcium carbonate). Each shell of a brachiopod is bilaterally symmetrical, unlike each shell of a bivalve (clam). Classification: Animalia, Brachiopoda, Articulata (a.k.a. Rhynchonelliformea), Terebratulida, Terebratulidae Stratigraphy: unrecorded (labeled Eocene, but possibly from the lower Vincetown Formation, Upper Paleocene) Locality: unrecorded/undisclosed site at or near the town of New Egypt, western Ocean County, central New Jersey, USA
Title: Oleneothyris harlani (fossil brachiopod) (Tertiary; New Egypt, New Jersery, USA) 7
Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/47445767@N05/49615416593/
Author: James St. John
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution 2.0
License: CC BY 2.0
License Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0
Attribution Required?: Yes