''Rafinesquina'' is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

genus of large brachiopod that existed from the

Darriwilian The Darriwilian is the upper stage of the Middle Ordovician. It is preceded by the Dapingian and succeeded by the Upper Ordovician Sandbian Stage. The lower boundary of the Darriwilian is defined as the first appearance of the graptolite species '' ...

to the Ludlow epoch. The genus was named in honor of polymath

Constantine Samuel Rafinesque Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz (; October 22, 1783September 18, 1840) was a French 19th-century polymath born near Constantinople in the Ottoman Empire and self-educated in France. He traveled as a young man in the United States, ultimat ...

Description

''Rafinesquina's'' members were

epifaunal Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is ''funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zool ...

, meaning they lived on top of the seafloor, not buried within it, and were suspension feeders. ''Rafinesquina'' normally have a concavo-convex profile, with radiating striae of alternating size which are crossed with finer concentric striae. Their width is usually greater than their length, like most Strophomenids. Members of this genus had shells that grew in increments, with each increment forming a layer of the shell (much like trees do with their rings). In 1982,

Gary D. Rosenberg Gary may refer to: *Gary (given name), a common masculine given name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name *Gary, Indiana, the largest city named Gary Places ;Iran *Gary, Iran, Sistan and Baluchestan Province ;Unit ...

analyzed specimens of ''

Rafinesquina alternata ''Rafinesquina'' is an extinct genus of large brachiopod that existed from the Darriwilian to the Ludlow epoch. The genus was named in honor of polymath Constantine Samuel Rafinesque. Description ''Rafinesquina's'' members were epifaunal, mea ...

'' previously inferred to have lived in a shallow subtidal environment and proposed it could be possible to estimate the total number of days in a lunar month (the period between full moons) during the Late Ordovician using layer counting.

Distribution

''Rafinesquina'' specimens had a cosmopolitan distribution, and their fossils can be found in

the Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America, North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. ...

, Europe, and Asia.Fossilworks
/ref>

Species

Species in the genus ''Rafinesquina'' include:Catalog of Life
/ref> *'' R. alternata'' (Conrad, 1838) *'' R. declivis'' (James, 1874) *'' R. delicata'' Williams, 1974 *'' R. deltoidea'' (Conrad, 1838) *'' R. insidiosa'' Williams, 1962 *'' R. jeffersonensis'' Bradley, 1930 *'' R. latisculptilus'' (Savage, 1913) *'' R. lignani'' Vilas, 1985 *'' R. mesicosta'' Shumard, 1860 *'' R. mucronata'' Foerste, 1914 *'' R. nasuta'' (Emmons, 1842) *'' R. oanduensis'' Oraspold, 1956 *'' R. orvikui'' Oraspold, 1956 *'' R. percensis'' Cooper and Kindle, 1936 *'' R. planulata'' Cooper, 1956 *'' R. ponderosa'' Hayes and Ulrich, 1903 *'' R. pseudoloricata'' (Barrande, 1848) *'' R. relicula'' Benedetto, 1995 *'' R. stropheodontoides'' (Savage, 1913) *'' R. trentonensis'' (Hall, 1847) *'' R. ultrix'' Marek and Havlíček, 1967 *'' R. urbicola'' Marek and Havlíček, 1967

References

Prehistoric brachiopod genera Ordovician brachiopods Silurian brachiopods Paleozoic animals of Asia Paleozoic animals of Europe Paleozoic animals of North America Paleozoic animals of South America Paleozoic brachiopods of Asia Paleozoic brachiopods of Europe Paleozoic brachiopods of North America Paleozoic brachiopods of South America Fossils of Argentina Fossils of Belarus Fossils of Bolivia Fossils of Canada Paleozoic life of British Columbia Paleozoic life of Manitoba Paleozoic life of Newfoundland and Labrador Paleozoic life of the Northwest Territories Paleozoic life of Nunavut Paleozoic life of Ontario Verulam Formation Paleozoic life of Quebec Fossils of China Fossils of the Czech Republic Letná Formation Fossils of Estonia Fossils of France Fossils of Latvia Fossils of Lithuania Fossils of North Korea Fossils of Norway Fossils of Portugal Fossils of Russia Fossils of South Korea Fossils of Spain Fossils of Great Britain Fossils of the United States Fossils of Georgia (U.S. state) Fossils of Venezuela Fossil taxa described in 1892 {{brachiopod-stub