Fenestella plebeia - a photo on Flickriver

Fenestella plebeia

            Age: 346-344Ma
          Viséan
           Middle Mississippian Epoch
            Carboniferous Period - Giant arthropods and amphibians, early reptiles, most plants fern or lycophyte-like, known for tropical forests and seas
             Paleozoic Era - pre-Dinosaurs

Location: Lancashire
                  Clitheroe
                   Salthill Quarry

Rock Type: Course grained and coursely crinoidal limestone, with lots of calcite from crinoid structure, part of a knoll-reef from the Clitheroe Limestone Formation.

Species:
 Fenestella is a genus of bryozoans, or moss animals, that forms fan-shaped colonies with a distinct netted appearance. The genus is known from the Middle Ordovician to the early Upper Triassic (Carnian), with its peak diversity during the Carboniferous period. Many hundreds of species have been described from marine sediments worldwide.

The name Fenestella is derived from the Latin word for "little window," referencing the window-like openings in the mesh of its colony skeleton. These colonies are composed of stiff branches that are connected by narrower crossbars, known as dissepiments. Between two and eight individuals, or zooids, inhabit the opposing sides of the rectangular openings between the branches, called fenestules. The voids left by dead zooids are visible as two rows of small rimmed pores, or apertures, on the front of each branch. In well-preserved specimens, these apertures are sometimes sealed by centrally perforated lids.

The branches of Fenestella colonies may feature small nodes arranged in a central row, and they periodically split, or bifurcate, contributing to the characteristic fan-like shape. Identification of intact fossils is often challenging, as the internal structure of the branches plays a crucial role in distinguishing between genera and species.

Compared to other fenestellids with two rows of apertures, Fenestella is relatively fine, with larger apertures and wider dissepiments. Importantly, the distance between the apertures remains consistent as the colony grows, suggesting that the zooids had equally sized lophophores, or feeding structures, throughout the colony.
   

Taken in: UK / England / Ribble Valley District / Clitheroe (show map)

Taken on: August 24, 2024

Tags:

Fenestella

plebeia

Fenestella plebeia

Fenestellidae

Fenestrida

Stenolaemata

Bryozoa

Ectoprocta

Animalia

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moss-animal

Tournaisian

Visean

Mississippian

Carboniferous

Paleozoic

Palaeozoic

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Galloway

dolomitic

limestone

Ballagan Formation

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bryozoan fossil

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Salthill

salthill quarry

Clitheroe

clitheroe fossil

clitheroe limestone formation

#lancashire

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Sets appears in: • Fenestella plebeia

Camera: Nikon D5600, f/8.0, 1/1000 sec, 55mm (=82mm), ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D5600
Aperture:	f/8.0
Exposure Time:	0.001 sec (1/1000)
Focal Length:	55mm (35mm equivalent: 82mm)
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	-4/3 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Manual
Light Source:	Cloudy
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Ver.1.10
Show full info

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