Lower Devonian (Emsian) rugose corals from the Cantabrian Mountains, northern Spain
Stefan Schröder and Francisco Soto
Two species of Lower Devonian rugose corals are described from the Cantabrian Mountains of Spain: Cantabriastraea cantabrica gen. et sp. nov. and Tabulophyllum bonarense sp. nov. The development of root- or buffer-like attachment structures ('rhizoid processes') in T. bonarense indicates adaption to the soft substrate and supports corallite stabilisation. Because of their strongly everted calices and a corresponding arrangement of trabeculae, the colonies of the genus Cantabriastraea are assigned tentatively to the Paradisphyllinae, constituting the first record of the subfamily in Western Europe. Some specimens give information on colony-formation of this taxon, which is induced by strong lateral budding (nonparricidal increase) of a remarkable large and long-lasting protocorallite.
Key words: Rugosa, Cantabriastraea, Tabulophyllum, Devonian, Emsian, Cantabrian Mountains, ecology.
Stefan Schröder [ste.schroeder@gmx.net], Geologisches Institut, Zülpicher Strasse 49A, D−50674 Köln, Germany; Francisco Soto [fsoto@geol.uniovi.es],Departamento de Geologia, Universidad de Oviedo,c/ Arias de Velasco s/n, E−33005 Oviedo, Spain.
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