fossil (IMAGE)

Penn State

fossil

Caption

Rafinesquina, seen in this close-up shot, was an ancient genus of brachiopod belonging to order Strophomenida. This order survived two mass extinction events, but the second represented a 'death sentence' from which they were unable to recover diversity, persisting for another hundred million years as a 'dead clade walking' before their eventual extinction.

Credit

Benjamin Barnes, Penn State

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