Heliolites coral from Germany

Heliolites is an interesting coral that I thought was confined to the Silurian period, So I was surprised when my friend Nils sent me a specimen from the Devonian of Germany in a recent exchange. The specimen below comes from the Junkerberg Formation (Devonian, Eifelian stage) near Rommersheim, Germany.

Previously I've blogged about specimens from the Silurian of Gotland, Sweden and Louisville, Kentucky. A search of the Fossilworks site (formerly Paleodb.org) shows that Heliolites is known up into the middle Devonian in many places around the world. Apparently it went extinct in most of America (except Alaska) but not elsewhere.

Pugnax sp. Brachiopod from Germany

This is a weird looking brachiopod called Pugnax sp. from the Junkerberg Formation (Devonian, Eifelian stage) near Rommersheim, Germany. To me it's odd because it has a very wide sulcus that has it's own plications. Overall the shell is kind of boxy but has a triangular shape in profile.

Brachial valve

Anterior

Pedicle valve

Posterior

Profile

This genera is first found in the Devonian and survived up until the end Permian extinction. I have specimens of this genera from the Pennsylvanian of Texas but I've not had the chance to blog about it yet.

Thanks go out to Nils for sending me the specimen.

Plectorspira ferita brachiopod from Germany

Following up on the previous post of Plectospira longirostrus, here is Plectospira ferita. It's from the same location as the other fossils: Junkerberg Formation (Devonian, Eifelian stage) near Rommersheim, Germany.

P. ferita is wider than P. longirostris but about the same length with the same zig zag shaped commissure (where the two valves meet in the anterior).

Specimen #1
Brachial valve

Anterior

Pedicle valve

Posterior

Profile

Specimen #2
Brachial valve

Anterior

Pedicle valve

Posterior

Thanks to Nils for sending me these fossils!

Plectospira longirostris brachiopod from Germany

No Aprils fools trick today, just another brachiopod fossil from Germany. Today it's Plectospira longirostris from the Junkerberg Formation (Devonian, Eifelian stage) near Rommersheim, Germany.

Specimen #1
Brachial valve

Anterior (the shell is a little distorted with the central sulcus exaggerated a bit)

Pedicle valve

Posterior

Profile

Specimen #2
Brachial valve

Anterior

Pedicle valve

Posterior

This reminds me of some Spanish brachiopods from the Devonian that I posted about a while back: Anathyris ferronensis, Atriathryris campomanensis, Plicathyris collensis, and Pradoia colleti.

Thanks to Nils for sending me these fossils!

Favosites sp. coral from Germany

Here is a specimen of Favosites sp. from the Nims member of the Junkerberg Formation (Devonian, Eifelian stage) near Rommersheim, Germany. It has a variety of calice sizes which kind of reminds me of Favosites argus.

Specimen #1

Specimen #2

Thanks to Nils for these fossils.

Quadrithyris macrorhynchia brachiopod from Germany

This next brachiopod fossil is a little rough but you can get the general idea of what it looked like. It's Quadrithyris macrorhynchia from the Nims member of the Junkerberg Formation (Devonian, Eifelian stage) near Rommersheim, Germany. It looks a little like an Athyris vittata but compressed between the anterior and posterior ends. There are some very fine growth lines on the surface of the shell that are more obvious in the view of the brachial valve.

Pedicle valve

Anterior

Brachial valve

Posterior

Left profile

Right profile

Thanks to Nils for the specimen.

Macgeea bathycalyx coral from Germany

I really like this coral fossil of Macgeea bathycalyx. It comes from the Nims member of the Junkerberg Formation (Devonian, Eifelian stage) near Rommersheim, Germany. It is an interesting fossil because it looks like a typical rugose coral, with a typical horn shape and cup, but the septae extend on both sides of the cup rather than being confined to the interior. Macgeea bathycalyx is a member of the Phillipsastreidae family of rugose corals and is related to Pachyphyllum sp. corals such as this Pachyphyllum woodmani from the upper Devonian of Iowa.

It's interesting to note that the genera Macgeea is found in the US but moreso in the upper Devonian (Fransian stage) rather than the lower to middle Devonian where this specimen comes from. It may be a transplant species that spread as continents came together in the late Paleozoic era.

Thanks to Nils for this specimen.