Jafarirhynchidae

Popov, Leonid E., Hairapetian, Vachik, Pour, Mansoureh Ghobadi & Modzalevskaya, Tatiana L., 2015, A new, unusual rhynchonellide brachiopod with a strophic shell from the Silurian of Iran, Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 60 (3), pp. 747-754 : 749

Family Jafarirhynchidae nov.

Diagnosis. —Aberrant Rhynchotrematoidea with a coarsely costate, alate, strophic shell, a wide, straight hinge line, a well-developed ventral interarea, a strong ventral sulcus and a dorsal median fold extending from the beak. Anterior commissure strongly bisulcate. Dental plates and septalium supported by a dorsal medium septum; cardinal process septiform.

Remarks.—The family Jafarirhynchidae is unique within the order Rhynchonellida in having a strophic shell with a wide, straight hinge line and a well-developed ventral interarea. These features in combination with cyrtomatodont teeth are considered diagnostic for spiriferides ( Jaanusson 1971); however, the family Jafarirhynchidae has dorsal cardinalia with a septalium supported by the median septum, a septiform cardinal process and long, raduliform crura, typical for the rhynchonellide superfamily Rhynchotrematoidea . The serial sections demonstrate the lack of calcified spiralia.