Plicathyridine brachiopods (Athyridida) from the Frasnian (Late Devonian) of Western Europe and Middle East

Plicathyridine brachiopods (Athyridida) from the early–middle Frasnian of southern Belgium and northern France (Dinant Synclinorium) are systematically described for the first time. They include two species: Anathyris (Anathyris) calestiennensis nov. sp., and A. (A.) sp. indet. 1. They are uncommon in the mainly shally La Prée (Nismes Formation) and Ermitage (Moulin Liénaux Formation) members and are absent from the mixed argillaceous–carbonate late Frasnian succession in this area contrary to what is observed in Russia, notably in the East-European Platform and Siberia. In the Middle East, two species of Anathyris are recognized on the basis of a limited material from the Dascht-e-Nawar area in Afghanistan (A. (A.) sp. indet. 2) and the Kuh-e Kaftar mountains in Central Iran (A. (A.) sp. indet. 3). Anathyris (A.) calestiennensis nov. sp. is sometimes encrusted by epizoans (tabulate and rugose corals, and bryozoans) and rarely displays single, small circular drill holes. The past and current epizoan–brachiopod interactions are also discussed (Anathyris vs. Lingula, respectively).     

New species of spiriferids (Brachiopoda) from the Devonian and Carboniferous of Eastern Europe

In a revision of previously published materials, two new spiriferid species from the Late Tournaisian, Unispirifer subtornacensis sp. nov. and Mesochorispira ussuilensis sp. nov., and Atylephorus nalivkini sp. nov. from the Lytva Horizon of the Upper Devonian of Bashkiria are described. Based on the original collection, a new Serpukhovian subspecies, Podtsheremia duplicicosta triplicicosta, from the southern Ural Mountains and a new Late Carboniferous species, Purdonella kalashnikovi, from the polar Ural Mountains and adjacent islands are established.     

New arthropods from the Lower Devonian Hunsru¨ck Slate (Lower Emsian, Rhenish Massif, western Germany)

Four new genera and species of arthropod, Cambronatus brasseli Wingertshellicus backesi Eschenbachiellus wuttkensis and Magnoculus blindi , are described from the Hunsru¨ck Slate (Lower Emsian) of Germany. All four occur in the Wingertshell Member in the vicinity of Bundenbach. They preserve remarkable details of the ventral morphology, including the appendages, as a result of pyritization. In each case the body consists of just two tagmata, a cephalon and a large number of similar trunk somites. Both Cambronatus Wingertshellicus have fluke-like appendages making up a tail fan. The affinities of these arthropods lie with the Crustacea, apart from Magnoculus , which is an arachnomorph, but they do not fall within those clades with modern representatives. They show that morphologies other than those represented by trilobites and modern arthropod groups persisted long after the Cambrian, at least in muddy bottom marine settings.     

Middle Devonian dendroid graptolites from the Brilon Reef area (Rheinisches Schiefergebirge, Germany)

Dendroid graptolites from the Middle Devonian (Givetian, middlePolygnathus varcus Biozone) of the Rheinisches Schiefergebirge are described for the first time. The fauna of the Burgberg locality south of the Brilon reef comes from a black shale layer in a succession of calcareous debris flows. The fauna includes five species ofDictyonema andRuedemannograptus described in open nomenclature. The fragmentation of the material is conside-red as an indication of post-mortem transport.      

The validity of the Middle Devonian camerate crinoid species Hexacrinites hieroglyphicus (Goldfuss, 1839) and H. marginatus (Schultze, 1866)

The camerate crinoids Hexacrinites hieroglyphicus (Goldfuss, 1839) and H. marginatus (Schultze, 1866) are valid species known from the Lower Givetian of the synclines of Gerolstein and Hillesheim, Eifel Hills (westernmost Germany). As shown by the refigured holotypes and new material, they are mostly separated by the expressed ornamentation of radials and basals. The radials of H. hieroglyphicus are characterized by prominent, variously formed bulges, stretching preferably in a radiate pattern across most of the plates. They do not reach the low plate boundaries. Vice versa, H. marginatus shows expressed depressions in the central part of the plates, but raised plate margins. The first known crowns of H. marginatus are described; one of them is proposed as neotype for the lost original.     

New spiriferids (Brachiopoda) from the Lower and Middle Devonian of northeastern Russia

New spiriferids (Brachiopoda) are described from the Lower and Middle Devonian of northeastern Russia: Tatjanaspirifer iskrensis sp. nov. and T. magnificus sp. nov. (family Reticulariidae); Cyrtina inveterata Baranov, sp. nov. and Blodgettospirifer gen. nov. with type species B. lezhoevi sp. nov. (family Cyrtinidae).     

New evidence for the synonymy ofDilophaspis andNahecaris (Phyllocarida; Lower Devonian; Rhenish Massif)

PalZ - Recently discovered phyllocarids from the early Upper Emsian Wiltz Beds in the Western Eifel Mountains and in eastern Luxemburg are described asDilophaspis frankei n. sp. This species which...     

Late Middle to Late Frasnian Atrypida, Pentamerida, and Terebratulida (Brachiopoda) from the Namur-Dinant Basin (Belgium)

In the Namur-Dinant Basin (Belgium), the last Atrypida and Pentamerida originate from the top of the Upper Palmatolepis rhenana Zone (Late Frasnian). Within this biozone, their representatives belong to the genera Costatrypa, Desquamatia (Desquamatia), Radiatrypa, Spinatrypa (Spinatrypa), Spinatrypina (Spinatrypina?), Spinatrypina (Exatrypa), Waiotrypa, Iowatrypa and Metabolipa. No representative of these orders occurs within the Palmatolepis linguiformis Zone. The disappearance of the last pentamerids, mostly confined to reefal ecosystems, is clearly related to the end of the edification of the carbonate mounds; it precedes shortly the atrypid one. This event, resulting from a transgressive episode, which induces a progressive and dramatic deterioration of the oxygenation conditions, takes place firstly in the most distal zones of the Namur-Dinant Basin (southern border of the Dinant Synclinorium; Lower P. rhenana Zone). It is only recorded within the Upper P. rhenana Zone in the Philippeville Anticlinorium, the Vesdre area, and the northern flank of the Dinant Synclinorium. It would seem that the terebratulids were absent during the Famennian in this basin, probably due to inappropriate facies. Among the 13 species described or briefly discussed (Palmatolepis hassi to Upper P. rhenana zones), Pseudoatrypa godefroidi nov. sp. and Spinatrypina (Exatrypa) marmoris nov. sp. are proposed as new.     

New Late Devonian strophomenids (Brachiopoda) from Mongolia

Two new strophomenid species, Leptagonia barunkhuraica sp. nov. (Famennian) and Floweria mongolica sp. nov. (Frasnian), from the Upper Devonian of the Barunkhurai Depression of southern Mongolia are described.     

New Devonian punctate rhynchonellids (Brachiopoda) from Transcaucasia

New genus and species of punctate rhynchonellids Sharovaella mirabilis are described from the Famennian (Upper Devonian) of Transcaucasia.     

Paleoecology of Upper Eifelian and Lower Givetian coral limestones in the northwestern Sauerland (Devonian; Rhenish Massif)

Summary The prevailing sandy/silty lower part of the Middle Devonian in the northwestern Sauerland includes two coral limestone horizons, which contain a rich fauna of corals, stromatoporoids, and calcareous algae. The Ihmert-Formation is subdvided into three parts. The older coral limestone horizon is the Grünewiese-Member of the Ihmert-Formation (uppermost Eifelian), the younger is in the Bredenbruch-Member of the Unterhonsel-Formation (lower Lower Givetian). Conclusions about the environmental constraints are drawn from the sedimentology and the fossil content of the coral limestones. Predominant biostromes are built between storm wave base and normal wave base. Only the few bioherms grew above the normal wave base. These coral limestones were deposited in a tropical or subtropical normal marine environment in the shallow euphotic zone. Among the reef-builders epoecism is very frequent, and until now this phenomenon has not been investigated in detail. Fragile rugose and tabulate corals lived as commensals with stromatoporoids. Some other aspects of paleoecology are concisely presented.     

New Upper Cambrian Lingulata (Brachiopoda) from the Agyrek mountains (northeastern central Kazakhstan)

Two new genera, Repkinella and Aristotreta, and five new species from the class Lingulata (Brachiopoda) are described from the Upper Cambrian olistolith limestone enclosed in the Upper Ordovician olistostrome from the Agyrek mountains (northeastern Kazakhstan). The family Curticiidae Walcott et Schuchert is referred to the order Lingulida, not order Acrotretida, where it was previously placed.     

A new large chonetid (Brachiopoda) from the Middle Permian of the southern Kitakami Mountains, northeast Japan

A new chonetid genus and species, Kitakamichonetes multicapillatus gen. et sp. nov. (subfamily Chalimochonetinae, family Rugosochonetidae), from the Middle Permian (Wordian-Capitanian, Kanokura Formation) of the southern Kitakami Mountains (northeast Japan) is described.     

New Atrypids (Brachiopoda) from the Lower Devonian of Northeast Russia

New atrypids are described from the Lower Devonian of Northeast Russia: Musalitinispira, gen. nov. with type species M. dogdensis, sp. nov. (subfamily Atrypinae), Spinatrypina (Spinatrypina) krivensis, sp. nov., and Datnella, gen. nov. with type species D. datnensis (Baranov, 1995) (subfamily Spinatrypinae).     

Mode of life of fan-hand-like Scoliocrinus according to functional form and syntopy with two other irregular crinoids from the Middle Devonian of the Rhenish Massif (Germany)

For a long time, the highly aberrant crinoid Scoliocrinus was known only from the Lower Givetian Eifel area (western Rhenish Massif) as a single oblique calyx with only two out of five radials having an arm facet. Several almost complete crowns of a new species in the Middle Givetian Finnentrop area (eastern Rhenish Massif) have two fan-like arms (in the A and E rays), and a horizontal large anal tube. The probable mode of life of Scoliocrinus is analysed by (a) functional morphology mainly of the arms, (b) criteria of minimised faecal recycling, (c) biostratinomic association with two new species of another aberrant, but four-armed new crinoid genus thus suggesting original syntopy with Scoliocrinus. It is concluded that the construction of Scoliocrinus is probably an adaptation to prevailing unidirectional (tidal?) currents in biostromal reef biotopes. This is supported by rather similar crinoid occurrences in a Lower Givetian biostromal reef-related region in the western Rhenish Massif, with the genotype of Scoliocrinus and a newly assigned third species of Scoliocrinus (arm and probable part of the calyx), as well as four-armed species. The new forms are described as Scoliocrinus ubaghsi nov. sp., Scoliocrinus gerolsteinensis nov. sp., Trapezocrinus scheeri nov. gen., nov. sp., and Trapezocrinus hilperti nov. gen., nov. sp.     

Rugosochonetidae (Brachiopoda, Chonetidina) from the Carboniferous of the Cantabrian Mountains (N Spain)

An overview is given of the species belonging to the family Rugosochonetidae known from the Carboniferous of the Cantabrian Mts. Their distribution is compared with other occurrences in Eurasia and elsewhere. Subfamily and generic assignments are discussed in some detail. Comments on palaeogeographic and palaeoecological aspects of the rugosochonetid faunas are presented.     

Silurian Leptaeninae (Brachiopoda) from Gotland, Sweden

Strophomenid brachiopods belonging to the generaLeptaena andLepidoleptaena are described from the uppermost Llandovery — Ludlow succession of Gotland, Sweden. In Gotland,Lepidoleptaena comprises the single speciesL. poulseni, andLeptaena includes four species:L. rhomboidalis, L. sperion, L. depressa andL. parvirugata n. sp.L. depressa shows a considerable amount of morphological variation, which is recognised in the two new subspeciesLeptaena depressa visbyensis n. ssp. from the Llandoverian — Wenlockian Visby Formation, andL. depressa lata n. ssp. from the mid-Wenlockian Slite Group. The distribution of the different species is largely substrate-dependent, withLeptaena rhomboidalis andLepidoleptaena poulseni adapted to high-energy environments with firm substrates, whereas the remaining species preferred fine-grained substrates in low-energy environments.      

Note on the gut preserved in the Lower Cambrian Lingulellotreta (Lingulata, Brachiopoda) from southern China

Lingulellotreta malongensis Rong is the earliest known taxon of the family Lingulellotretidae, which is characterized by the presence of a pedicle foramen as well as an internal pedicle tube. New material from the Early Cambrian Chengjiang Lagerstätte of southern China provides improved anatomical knowledge for lingulellotretid species especially for the digestive system. Additional gut fossils exhibit distinctly the anterior portion composed of esophagus and distended stomach, situated in the alleged visceral cavity, with the recurved intestine accommodated inside a hollow pseudointerarea. The frequency of occurrence of this intestinal layout suggests that this is not just an artefact of preservation. The gross configuration of the guts and the way they are preserved in the fossils suggest that they are in situ and, therefore, we can assume that Lingulellotreta had a hollow cavity presumably subtended by the pseuodelthyrium, which was invaded and occupied by the visceral organs. Hence, these fossils demonstrate the dangers of extrapolating crown‐group soft‐tissue configuration to the stem group.