Brachiopod help Ireland

[Brian James Maguire]

This was found in the Carboniferous limestone of the Malahide formation , east coast Dublin Ireland, Its part of a mortality plate i just prepared, mainly athyris glabristria, but i dont know what these are , hope you can help

[westcoast]

This is the brachidium of a spiriferid brachiopod, the internal structure that supports the lophophore. 

Very nice specimen

[Brian James Maguire]

Ah spriferid ! I thought it might be composita for some reason thankyou @westcoast for reply

[Brian James Maguire]

@westcoast the internal preservation of brachiopods on the Malahide formation is excellent but unfortunately the external preservation is very poor making it difficult for id

[TqB]

43 minutes ago, Brian James Maguire said:

Ah spriferid ! I thought it might be composita for some reason 

It could be something like Composita - I don't know how you could distinguish spiriferid and athyrid easily based just on the brachidia?

[westcoast]

Ah Yes, I agree, i didnt read the first post fully, so i should have said 'possibly spiriferid,' but of course athyrid is much more likely given they are present in abundance.

[Brian James Maguire]

@TqB @westcoast i did a bit more digging and it probably is an athyrid ,the most common athyrid by far on the malahide formation is glabristria , but this one looks so different i thought it might be something else altogether