Brachiopod
Mucrospirifer
Butterfly brachiopod
Mucrospirifer mucronatus is the winged Middle Devonian spiriferid of the Silica Formation, the Hamilton Group and the Ontario Arkona shale, with long pointed cardinal extremities that give it the 'butterfly' name. It is one of the most abundant and cheapest Devonian brachiopods and a staple of school collections. Complete wings are the thing to check.
| Phylum | Brachiopoda |
|---|---|
| Class | Rhynchonellata |
| Order | Spiriferida |
| Family | Mucrospiriferidae |
| Group | Brachiopod |
| Rank (PBDB) | genus· Paleobiology Database |
| Author | Grabau 1931· Paleobiology Database |
| Classification (PBDB) | Brachiopoda › Rhynchonellata › Spiriferida › Mucrospiriferidae· Paleobiology Database |
| Range (PBDB) | 420–347 Ma· Paleobiology Database |
| PBDB occurrences | 728· Paleobiology Database |
Photographs
Elsewhere
- GBIF: 4867825
- PBDB: 29445
- Wikidata: Q2327880
- PBDB taxon page
- Wikipedia: Mucrospirifer
- PBDB search: Mucrospirifer
Cite this article
Stratum Strata. "Mucrospirifer" (Taxon). Stratum Strata pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21. https://stratum.black/strata/taxa/mucrospirifer. Accessed 2026-09-21.
@misc{stratum-mucrospirifer,
title = {Mucrospirifer},
author = {{Stratum Strata}},
howpublished = {\url{https://stratum.black/strata/taxa/mucrospirifer}},
year = {2026},
note = {Taxon article, Stratum Strata pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21; sources: stratum, pbdb, wikidata, commons, nhm. Accessed 2026-09-21.}
} Citations carry the pack version and the article's as-of date so they resolve to the same text later. The facts themselves belong to the sources listed below; cite those for the science.