Epithelial moulds on the shells of the early Palaeozoic brachiopod Lingulella

Curry, G.B. and Williams, A. (1983) Epithelial moulds on the shells of the early Palaeozoic brachiopod Lingulella. Lethaia, 16(2), pp. 111-118. (doi: 10.1111/j.1502-3931.1983.tb01706.x)

Abstract

A fine hexagonal network of microscopic ridges has been discovered on the internal shell surface of the cosmopolitan Lower Palaeozoic inarticulate genus <i>Lingulella</i>. The micro-ornamentation has been recognised on all well-preserved specimens examined, from Cambrian and Ordovician successions in Ireland, North America, Gt. Britain, Spitzbergen, and China. Examination of the mantle of the related Recent genus <i>Lingula</i> revealed that the outer epithelial cells are arranged in a hexagonal close-packed pattern comparable in size and form to the micro-ornamentation in the fossil shells. This fact, along with the discovery of a polygonal pattern on some organic layers in the <i>Lingula</i> shell, suggests that the micro-ornamentation in fossil <i>Lingulella</i> is the mould of the outer epithelium responsible for shell secretion. No trace of epithelial moulds has yet been found in specimens of <i>Lingula</i> from younger Palaeozoic successions. This difference may prove to be a useful diagnostic feature in distinguishing linguloid inarticulates from one another.<i>Epithelial moulds</i>, Lingulella, Palaeoglossa, Lingula, <i>Cambrian, Ordovician</i>, Recent.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Curry, Professor Gordon
• Authors: Curry, G.B., and Williams, A.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Geographical and Earth Sciences
• Journal Name: Lethaia
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
• ISSN: 0024-1164
• ISSN (Online): 1502-3931
• Published Online: 09 October 2007