Neospirifer

I often been purchase small lots of fossils from estate sales that are from areas I've not collected at or can't get to anymore. One of the lots included some Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian) aged fossils from Texas and among them was this Neospirifer.

Neospirifer is, as the name suggests, a member of the Spiriferida order or Brachiopods and has the typical body style of a wide hinged, fan shaped shell with a deep central sulcus. An interesting fact is that Spiriferid means "Spiral Bearer" and refers to the spiral shaped lophophore supports called brachidiums.