Rafinesquinidae
Classification
Phylum: Brachiopoda
Class: Strophomenata
Order: Strophomenida
Family: Rafinesquinidae (Schuchert, 1983)
Cincinnatian Genera: Leptaena, Rafinesquina
Geologic Range
Ordovician (Llanvirn) – Carboniferous (Namurian)
Common Paleoecology
Rafinesquinidae is an extinct family of facultatively mobile, epifaunal suspension feeders
Characteristics of the Family
- ‘D’ shaped
- Planoconvex to concavoconvex
- Cardinal process lobes elongate
- Notothryial platform variable
- Thinner and smaller than Strophomenidae
Published Descriptions
Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology, Part H, Vol. 2 (2000):
- Systematics
- Outline usually transverse; cardinal process lobes usually elongate or platelike in shape, entirely discrete throughout ontogeny; notothyrial platform variably developed; socket ridges straight, often thinner, smaller than in the Strophomenidae
Rafinesquina
Leptaena
