PLATYSTROPHIA

genus of extinct brachiopods (lamp shells) occurring as fossils in marine rocks of the Middle Ordovician epoch to about the middle of the Silurian period (i.e., from about 478 to 421 million years ago). Each valve of the shell is convex in profile, and the hinge line between the valves is wide. Surface markings on the shell include prominent angular ridges and intervening linear depressions. Platystrophia is a common Late Ordovician fossil that is useful for stratigraphic correlations.