Mucrospirifer

Mucrospirifer, genus of extinct brachiopods (lamp shells) found as fossils in Middle and Upper Devonian marine rocks (the Devonian Period began 416 million years ago and lasted about 57 million years). Mucrospirifer forms are characterized by an extended hinge line of the two valves, or shells, of the brachiopod and a prominent fold and sulcus—a bow-shaped ridge and depressed trough, respectively. The many species of Mucrospirifer are abundant Devonian fossils; evolutionary trends within the genus and related forms are relatively well-known and studied.