Rugose corals across the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary in NW Turkey
Author
Denayer, Julien
text
Acta Palaeontologica Polonica
2016
2014-10-07
61
1
51
70
http://dx.doi.org/10.4202/app.00061.2014
journal article
10.4202/app.00061.2014
1732-2421
10626402
Genus
Campophyllum
Milne-Edwards and Haime, 1850
Type
species
:
Cyathophyllum flexuosum
Goldfuss, 1826
;
Strunian of Stolberg
(
Aachen
,
Germany
)
.
Emended diagnosis
.—Cylindrical solitary corallum. Major septa long (2/3 of the corallum radius), extending or not to the axis, straight or sinuous, sometimes carinated. Minor septa long, usually contratingent. Cardinal fossula conspicuous. Dissepimentarium narrow to wide, including concentric interseptal dissepiments and occasional lonsdaleoid dissepiments. Tabulae complete, mesa-shaped. Emended from
Hill (1981)
.
Remarks.
—According
Hill (1981)
,
Campophyllum
is the only member of the family
Campophyllidae
, nevertheless, “
Palaeosmilia
”
aquisgranensis
(
Frech, 1885
)
could be included in the same family as it probably evolved from
Campophyllum
(and has no affinity with the Viséan
Palaeosmilia
; see
Poty 2010
). Goldfuss’ (1826)
type
material of
Campophyllum flexuosum
was considered by this author as Middle Devonian.
Schindewolf (1937)
and
Frech (1885)
considered them as Strunian, a view shared by
Hill and Jull (1965)
in their re-description of Goldfuss’
types
.
Hill and Jull’s (1965)
paper allowed the definition of the genus to be restrained to Strunian forms. Middle Devonian and Viséan corals attributed to
Campophyllum
should therefore be reinterpreted.
Campophyllum
were described is the Namur-Dinant Basin (
Belgium
, Aachen vicinity and Avesnois; Poty 1984),
Poland
(
Pomerania
,
Chwieduk 2005
; Holy Cross Mountains,
Berkowski 2002
) and in the Omolon Massif (Siberia) under the names
Protocaninia
(
Onoprienko 1979a
)
and
Campophyllum
(
Poty and Onoprienko 1984
)
. Famennian corals of New Mexico, attributed to
Campophyllum
by
Sorauf (1992)
show several morphological differences (minor septa not contratingent, short counter septum, complex dissepimentarium) suggesting a distinct genus and possibly in another family. As discussed in
Sorauf (1992)
, these “campophids” are somewhat older (lower
Palmatolepis expansa
Conodont Zone
) than the classic European Strunian
Campohyllum
. In Europe,
Campophyllum
appears in the uppermost Famennian (base of
Siphonodella praesulcata
Conodont Zone
) or a little earlier (
P. expansa
Conodont Zone
;
Berkowski 2002
). From the beginning,
Campophyllum
shows a surprising morphological plasticity that can be explained by the quick recovery of numerous empty ecological niches after the demise of corals at the Frasnian–Famennian boundary and the very slow post-crisis diversification during the Famennian (Poty 1984, 2010;
Berkowski 2002
). Unpublished data of Edouard Poty personal communication,
May 2013
) indicate the successive appearance of at least six yet unnamed species in a lineage characterized by an increase of corallum diameter and length of septa (
Poty 1999
). The final species are very large
30–50 mm
), counting numerous long septa prefiguring the morphology of “
Palaeosmilia
”
aquisgranensis
(
Frech, 1885
)
, that probably evolved from
Campophyllum
at the end of the uppermost Famennian (
Poty 2010
).
Campophyllum
and associated genera became extinct at the Hangenberg event preceding the D–C boundary (
Poty 1999
).