Protognathodus (Conodonta) and Its Potential As a Tool for Defining the Devonian/Carboniferous Boundary
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia volume 117 no. 1 1 pl. pp. 15-28 April 2011 PROTOGNATHODUS (CONODONTA) AND ITS POTENTIAL AS A TOOL FOR DEFINING THE DEVONIAN/CARBONIFEROUS BOUNDARY CARLO CORRADINI 1, SANDRA ISABELLA KAISER 2, MARIA CRISTINA PERRI 3 & CLAUDIA SPALLETTA4 Received: November 2nd, 2010; accepted: February 11, 2011 Key-words: Biostratigraphy, Taxonomy, Devonian/Carbonif- lità regionale dei dati di comparsa, di ridotte distribuzioni stratigrafi- erous Boundary, Conodonts, Protognathodus. che e geografiche a livello globale, imputabili forse ad una dipendenza dalle facies non ancora ben chiarita, e, soprattutto, ad una generale Abstract. The current definition of the Devonian/Carbonifer- rarità delle specie. ous boundary is the first occurrence of the conodont Siphonodella sul- cata. Due to difficulties in identification of the early siphonodellids, such as S. praesulcata and S. sulcata, investigation of Protognatho- dus which enters in the latest Devonian and extends into the Missis- Introduction sippian, was undertaken to determine use as a better indicator of the base of the Carboniferous. During the D/C boundary interval, Pro- The base of the Carboniferous System is defined tognathus is represented by four species: Pr. meischneri, Pr. collinsoni, by the First Appearance Datum (FAD) of the cono- Pr. kockeli and Pr. kuehni. dont species Siphonodella sulcata, within the S. praesul- Although Pr. kockeli can be abundant in boundary interval cata-S. sulcata lineage (Paproth et al. 1991). The Global sections, none of the four Protognathodus species has a high potential Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) is located in the as a tool for redefining the D/C boundary, based on regional varia- La Serre Trench E’ section, Montagne Noire, France. tion in first occurrence data, restricted stratigraphic ranges and global distribution, poorly understood facies occurrences, as well as general Flajs & Feist (1988) published a biometric study of S. rarity of the taxa. praesulcata and S. sulcata based on the La Serre fau- nas, demonstrating that transitional forms are very Riassunto. La base del Carbonifero è definita dalla prima com- common. Despite these taxonomic uncertainties, the parsa del conodonte Siphonodella sulcata nella linea evolutiva Si. pra- FAD of S. sulcata was chosen to define the base of the esulcata-Si. sulcata. Poiché la identificazione dei primi siphonodellidi, quali S. praesulcata e S. sulcata, presenta difficoltà, è stato esaminato Tournaisian. Further studies on the stratotype section il genere Protognathodus, la cui distribuzione stratigrafica si estende have revealed a series of problems, such as lack of other dalla parte più alta del Devoniano al Mississippiano, al fine di valuta- important stratigraphic guides and the existence of re- re se fosse un indicatore migliore per la definizione del limite basale working (e.g., Flajs & Feist 1988; Ziegler & Sandberg del Carbonifero. Durante l’intervallo di tempo comprendente il limite 1996; Casier et al. 2002; Kaiser 2009). Additionally, dif- Devoniano/Carbonifero il genere è rappresentato da quattro specie: ficulties in discriminating S. praesulcata from S. sulcata Pr. meischneri, Pr. collinsoni, Pr. kockeli and Pr. kuehni. Benché Pr. kockeli sia a volte abbondante in alcune sezioni che comprendono il arose quite immediately (e.g., Ji 1987a; Flajs & Feist limite, nessuna delle quattro specie di Protognathodus presenta elevate 1988; Wang & Yin 1988). A redefinition of the Devoni- potenzialità per la ridefinizione del limite stesso, a causa della variabi- an/Carboniferous boundary (DCB) was reputed nec- 1 Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Cagliari, via Trentino 51, I-09127 Cagliari, Italy. E-mail: [email protected] 2 Steinmann Institute of Geology, Mineralogy, Palaeontology; University Bonn, Nussallee 8, D-53115 Bonn, Germany. E-mail: sakaiser@ uni-bonn.de 3 Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e Geologico Ambientali, Alma Mater Studiorum-Università di Bologna; via Zamboni 67, I-40127 Bologna, Italy. E-mail: [email protected] 4 Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e Geologico Ambientali, Alma Mater Studiorum-Università di Bologna; via Zamboni 67, I-40127 Bologna, Italy. E-mail: [email protected] 16 Corradini C., Kaiser S.I., Perri M.C. & Spalletta C. essary, and in 2008 the International Commission on tribution of these forms allow discrimination of two Stratigraphy established a working group with the goal groups: an early group, including Pr. meischneri, Pr. to propose a new criterion for defining the boundary collinsoni, Pr. kockeli and Pr. kuehni, occur in the up- and finding a new GSSP. A taxonomic overview and permost Famennian and lower Tournaisian; in these revision of the early siphonodellids is in progress (Kai- species the anterior margins of the cup are opposed. A ser & Corradini 2011), but also other conodont genera late group, ranging in upper Tournaisian, includes Pr. should be considered for evaluating their potential for praedelicatus and Pr. cordiformis, which have larger identifying the DCB. cups that have slightly offset anterior terminations. This paper addresses the genus Protognathodus, Lane et al. (1980) suggested that Pr. praedelicatus is de- a taxon with stratigraphic potential around the DCB rived from Pr. kockeli, but there is a short stratigraphic and well known since Ziegler (1969) introduced the gap between the two groups, corresponding to part of “Protognathodus fauna” to define the youngest Devo- the Lower crenulata Zone. nian strata, between the “costatus” and the “S. sulca- The appearance and evolution of the genus Pro- ta-P. kockeli” zones. Later, Ziegler & Sandberg (1984) tognathodus is easy to follow in the latest Devonian defined the base of the Upper praesulcata Zone by the (Fig. 1) as documented by Ziegler (1973). Protogna- entry of Pr. kockeli. thodus meischneri, the oldest species of the genus, Four species of Protognathodus are known in the evolved from Bispathodus stabilis (Ziegler, 1969) by a time frame across the DCB: Pr. meischneri Ziegler, Pr. variation in the position and shape of the basal cavity collinsoni Ziegler, Pr. kockeli (Bischoff) and Pr. kuehni (cup). In Protognathodus the basal cavity extends to Ziegler & Leuteritz. The goal of this study is to sum- the posterior end of the element and is more rounded marize the current knowledge of these species, and and inflated; Pr. meischneri has an almost symmetrical take in to account their original taxonomic diagnosis and unornamented cup. This happened during the late and definitions, precise biostratigraphic ranges, and Famennian, contemporaneous to the first occurrence geographic distributions, in order to evaluate the pos- of representatives of the genus Siphonodella or slightly sible use of one of these taxa to define the base of the before, as suggested by the occurrence of a single speci- Carboniferous. men of Pr. meischneri in the Upper expansa Zone in Sardinia (Corradini et al. 2003: tab. 2). In the very early part of its range Pr. meischneri Phylogeny and stratigraphy of the early Protognathodus gave rise to Pr. collinsoni, characterized by the occur- rence of scattered nodes on the upper surface of the Genus Protognathodus comprises six species: Pr. slightly asymmetrical cup. Both of these species range meischneri Ziegler, Pr. collinsoni Ziegler, Pr. kockeli to within the Upper duplicata Zone (Over 1992). (Bischoff), Pr. kuehni Ziegler & Leuteritz, Pr. praedeli- Protognathodus kockeli, characterized by an catus Lane et al. and Pr. cordiformis Lane et al. asymmetrical cup covered by at least one longitudinal Morphological features and stratigraphic dis- row of nodes, evolved from Pr. collinsoni just after the Fig. 1 - Phylogeny and stratigraphic distribution of early repre- sentatives of genus Protog- nathodus across the D/C boundary plotted against selected events and aligned to the biozonation schemes after Sandberg et al. (1978), Ziegler & Sandberg (1990) and Kaiser et al. (2009). Sketches are based on the holotypes figured in Ziegler (1973). Protognathodus (Conodonta) and its potential as a tool for defining the Devonian/Carboniferous boundary 17 Hangenberg Event. It ranges up to the lower part of 1973 Protognathodus meischneri Ziegler – Szulczewski, p. 43, the Lower crenulata Zone in North America (Sandberg Pl. 2, fig. 8. et al. 1978), whereas elsewhere it is limited to the sand- 1976 Protognathodus meischneri Ziegler – Dreesen et al., Pl. 2, fig. 10. bergi Zone. 1982 Protognathodus meischneri Ziegler – Higgins & Wagner- Protognathodus kuehni is distinguished by ro- Gentis, Pl. 34, fig. 10. bust transverse ridges on the upper surface of the cup 1984 Protognathodus meischneri Ziegler – Hou et al., Pl. 4, fig. 9. running radially from the margins to the carina, that 1984 Protognathodus meischneri Ziegler – Wang & Yin, Pl. 3, can be suppressed. It evolved from Pr. kockeli and fig. 17. 1985 Protognathodus meischneri Ziegler – Austin et al., Pl. 4.9, ranges from around the present DCB to the sandbergi fig. 14. Zone (Lane et al. 1980). 1987b Protognathodus meischneri Ziegler – Ji, Pl. 1, figs 1-2. 1988 Protognathodus meischneri Ziegler – Garcia Alcalde & Repository of the figured specimens. DSTC: Dipartimento Menendez-Alvarez, Pl. 1, fig. 8. di Scienze della Terra, Università di Cagliari; IC: Dipartimento di 1988 Protognathodus meischneri Ziegler – Schönlaub et al., Pl. Scienze della Terra e Geologico Ambientali, Università di Bologna, 4, figs 4. Alma Mater Studiorum; IPUM: Museo di Paleontologia,