New data on internal morphology of exceptionally preserved Nannirhynchia pygmaea (Morris, 1847) from the Lusitanian Basin (Brachiopoda, Early Jurassic, Portugal)

Pyritized internal moulds of articulated shells of the Early Jurassic brachiopod taxon Nannirhynchia pygmaea were found in beds closely below the early Toarcian oceanic anoxic event in the Polymorphum Zone in Portugal. The material allows a detailed study of the outline of the muscle fields, the length and direction of the crura, and the orientation of the cardinalia, which are hitherto undescribed. Three-dimensional reconstructions of articulated shells of N. pygmaea occurring in a single horizon were produced to show the orientation and length of arcuiform crura. The preservation of internal moulds together with the three-dimensional reconstruction of the internal shell morphology allow a more precise description of the internal morphology of this taxon than it is possible with articulated shells and serial sections. (© 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)