Lingula delia brachiopod from the Moscow formation

As I'm sure I've mentioned before in the many, many, many, many, many, many, posts I've written about Lingula specimens that it is a common fossil and known from the Cambrian thru to the modern day.  Well, here is another one. It's Lingula delia from the Windom Shale mbr. of the Moscow formation at Deep Springs Rd.  Considering these all look the same to me whenever I find them, I half wonder if there are multiple species or it's all just one long line of primitive brachiopods.


Specimen #1

Specimen #2

Specimen #3 - This is a more unusual specimen in that it is preserved, presumably, in life position. they typically lived buried in the sediment in a vertical orientation. they would used their fleshy muscle to raise and lower their shell so they could feed. It's not much more than a thin phosphatic coating so it's hard to see.

These specimens were found at a borrow pit on Deep Springs Road in Madison County, NY which exposes the Windom shale member of the Moscow formation (middle Devonian in age, Givetian stage.)