The apparatus of the Carboniferous conodont Vogelgnathus simplicatus and the early evolution of the genus

Abstract

The apparatus of Vogelgnathus simplicatus (Rhodes, Austin, and Druce, 1969) is reconstructed from discrete elements from a sample of limited diversity from the Limerick Province (Ireland). The apparatus is typical of the order Ozarkodinida and the P1 element was previously placed within Gnathodus. Here we assign it to Vogelgnathus by applying a multielemental concept rather than using P1 element morphology. The holotype and paratypes are re-illustrated and the species distribution revised based on published data. Vogelgnathus simplicatus ranges from the late Tournaisian to the early Viséan (Mississippian, Carboniferous), with common occurrences relating to the growth of Waulsortian bank complexes in a high-stand sea-level along the southern and western margins of the Laurussian landmass (Belgium, the British Isles, the Republic of Ireland, and USA). Vogelgnathus simplicatus appears to represent the rootstock from which deep-water and shallow-water Viséan species of Vogelgnathus evolved in the Mississippian.

Middle Visean (Mississippian) conodonts from shallow-water deposits in the Yashui section, Guizhou, South China, and their stratigraphic significance

“…Vogelgnathus campbelli is cosmopolitan and has been reported from many regions of middle and low latitudes (e.g., North America: Rexroad, 1957; Globensky, 1967; Purnell and von Bitter, 1992a; western Europe: Rhodes et al, 1969; Park, 1983; van den Boogaard, 1992; Purnell and von Bitter, 1992a; Nemyrovska and Samankassou, 2005; eastern Europe: Kabanov et al, 2009; East Asia: Igo, 1973; Qi et al, 2014; north coast of Gondwana: Jenkins et al, 1993; Nemyrovska et al, 2006; Medina-Varea, 2018; Atakul-Ozdemir et al, 2019; south Urals of central Asia: unpublished materials of the authors). We accept the recently revised phylogeny (Purnell and von Bitter, 1992a; Nemyrovska and Samankassou, 2005; Sanz-Lopez et al, 2019), and the profiles of our specimens are more like the possible ancestor V . simplicatus (Rhodes, Austin, and Druce, 1969) rather than the possible descendant V .…”

“…The evolution of this genus is not clear. As for the conventional Mississippian representatives, the phylogeny pattern is probably complicated by geographical differentiation (Purnell and von Bitter, 1992a; Sanz-Lopez et al, 2019).…”

“…The aforementioned foraminifers of the MFZ11 to MFZ12 foraminiferal zone suggest a possible early to middle Visean age for the studied interval at the Yashui-A section. As for the conodonts, Hindeodus cristulus and Vogelgnathus campbelli are common in the late Visean and early Serpukhovian, but their first occurrences are much lower, from late Tournaisian (Metcalfe, 1981; Zhuravlev, 2017; Sanz-Lopez et al, 2019). Invasions of V .…”

“…Family Uncertain Genus Vogelgnathus Norby and Rexroad, 1985 Type species.-Spathognathodus campbelli Rexroad, 1957. Remarks.-The apparatus of this genus is based on bedding plane materials (Norby and Rexroad, 1985;Purnell and Donoghue, 1997;Sanz-Lopez et al, 2019). Vogelgnathus is similar to several genera (e.g., Lochriea, Gnathodus, and Hindeodus) but is easily differentiated by the Pa elements (Norby and Rexroad, 1985;Sweet, 1988;Donoghue et al, 2008).…”

“…The aforementioned foraminifers of the MFZ11 to MFZ12 foraminiferal zone suggest a possible early to middle Visean age for the studied interval at the Yashui-A section. As for the conodonts, Hindeodus cristulus and Vogelgnathus campbelli are common in the late Visean and early Serpukhovian, but their first occurrences are much lower, from late Tournaisian (Metcalfe, 1981;Zhuravlev, 2017;Sanz-Lopez et al, 2019). Invasions of V. campbelli were considered indicators of rapid sea-level-rise events in the Cantabrian Mountains, Spain (van den Boogaard, 1992;Nemyrovska and Samankassou, 2005); however, their occurrence in shallow-water facies is sparse and therefore not useful to correlate sea-level change.…”