Reassessment of the early Triassic lingulid brachiopod ‘Lingula’ borealis Bittner, 1899 and related problems of lingulid taxonomy

Abstract

The Early Triassic (late Induan to early Olenekian) Lingula borealis Bittner, from the Russkii Island on the Pacific cost of south-eastern Russia is revised, based on re-examination of the type material. Although this species, like most described Triassic lingulids, has remained very poorly understood due to the lack of information on important characters, such as musculature and mantle canals, it has been commonly recorded in subsequent studies and included in attempts at understanding the patterns of extinction and recovery at around the Permian–Triassic boundary. Linguliform brachiopods are some of the notable survivors of this significant mass extinction event. Lingula borealis has previously been referred to Lingularia and provisionally synonymised with Lingularia similis Biernat & Emig. Here, it is shown that it differs from Lingularia similis mainly in characters of mantle canals, musculature and most importantly in details of the pedicle nerve impression. In Lingularia borealis, the impression of the pedicle nerve is symmetrical and goes almost straight between the individual ventral umbonal muscle scars, whereas in Lingularia similis it is asymmetrically positioned towards the smaller left component of the ventral umbonal muscle scar. Shell structures and details of preserved ontogenies have also proven to be important for the discrimination of lingulid taxa, but cannot be provided from the types of Lingularia borealis.