Biostratigraphic significance of brachiopods near the Devonian–Carboniferous boundary

Abstract

The biostratigraphic significance of selected uppermost Famennian (Upper Devonian) and lower Tournaisian (Mississippian) brachiopod genera, belonging to the orders Rhynchonellida (e.g. Araratella), Spiriferida (e.g. Sphenospira, Prospira), Spiriferinida (Syringothyris) and Productida (except Chonetidina), is discussed. Owing to the difficulties of identifying productidine and strophalosiidine genera, in contrast to rhynchonellides and spiriferides, the biostratigraphic potential of the former has generally been overlooked. Brachiopods flourished in neritic environments that were unfavourable for conodonts and ammonoids. In the absence of the latter traditional marker fossils, they are potentially important for locating the Devonian–Carboniferous boundary in shallow water depositional settings in conjunction with rugose corals and foraminifers. On a worldwide scale, further work is required to reach a better assessment of the aftermath of the Hangenberg biological Crisis on brachiopods, notably in revising the faunas from the classical areas of the Famennian and Tournaisian stages in Western Europe.

Famennian rhynchonellides (Brachiopoda) from deep-water facies of the Ougarta Basin (Saoura Valley, Algeria)

“…They made their appearance during Pragian time (cf. Savage et al 2002; Savage, 2007), before disappearing at the end of the Devonian period (Mottequin, Brice & Legrand-Blain, 2014).…”

“…Brice, Legrand-Blain & Nicollin, 2005, 2007). Brachiopods are of interest because they flourished along the northern margin of Gondwana in neritic facies sometimes unfavourable to ammonoids and conodonts, and are therefore valuable tools for biostratigraphy in such palaeoenvironmental contexts, especially regarding the Devonian–Carboniferous boundary (Mottequin, Brice & Legrand-Blain, 2014).…”

Brachiopod faunas from the basinal facies of southeastern Thuringia (Germany) before and after the Hangenberg Crisis (Devonian–Carboniferous boundary)

“…The brachiopod fauna from the Pfaffenberg Member includes representatives of pre-existing genera known from Famennian strata (e.g., Cleiothyridina, Composita) and of new ones (e.g., Thuringorhynchus gen. nov., Crassumbo). Members of the family Rozmanariidae, which were particularly 42 well-represented during the Famennian and especially in Thuringia, do not cross the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary (Mottequin et al, 2014). Kaiser et al (2016) proposed a so-called Rozmanaria post-crisis fauna on the basis of Bartzsch et al's (2015) report of Rozmanaria?…”

Shallow marine Rostroconchia (Mollusca) from the latest Devonian (Strunian) and their significance for rostroconch life style and evolution

“…Europe which causes difficulties in the correlation with other fossil groups (Mottequin et al, 2014 and references therein; see also Streel et al, 2006).…”