Leiorhynchus
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| Leiorhynchus | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Brachiopoda |
| Class: | Rhynchonellata |
| Order: | Rhynchonellida |
| Family: | †Leiorhynchidae |
| Subfamily: | †Leiorhynchinae |
| Genus: | †Leiorhynchus Hall 1860 |
| Species | |
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See text | |
Leiorhynchus is an extinct genus of brachiopod belonging to the order Rhynchonellida and family Leiorhynchidae.[1] Specimens have been found in South America,[2] North America, and Russia[3] in beds of middle Devonian[4] to Mississippian[3] age (372 to 325 million years old).[5] The genus may have been adapted to dysaerobic environments, colonizing areas of reduced oxygen concentrations rich in organic matter.[6] The genus has been used as an index fossil in North America.[7]