Palaeontologia Electronica palaeo-electronica.org A revision of Heritschioides Yabe, 1950 (Anthozoa, Rugosa), latest Mississippian and earliest Pennsylvanian of western North America Jerzy Fedorowski, E. Wayne Bamber, and Calvin H. Stevens ABSTRACT New data from a detailed study of the type and topotype collections of the type species of Heritschioides confirm the unique status of the genus as colonial and bear- ing extra septal lamellae. The associated microfossils establish its age as late Serpuk- hovian to early Bashkirian. The close connection of the cardinal septum to the median lamella and the axial structure points to the family Aulophyllidae. However, the incon- sistent role of the protosepta in the formation of the median lamella is unique for Herits- chioides. This feature and the colonial growth form allow its assignment to a separate subfamily, the Heritschioidinae Sando, 1985, which is closely related to the subfamily Aulophyllinae. So far, the subfamily Heritschioidinae is known to occur only in rocks along the western margin of North America. Jerzy Fedorowski. Institute of Geology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Maków Polnych 16, Pl-61-606, Poznań, Poland. [email protected] E. Wayne Bamber. Geological Survey of Canada (Calgary), 3303-33rd Street N. W., Calgary, Alberta T2L 2A7, Canada. [email protected] Calvin H. Stevens. Department of Geology, San Jose State University, San Jose, California 95192, USA. [email protected] Keywords: Late Serpukhovian-early Bashkirian; colonial coral; type specimens; western North America; allochthonous terranes. INTRODUCTION lated structural block on a ridge northwest of Blind Creek, approximately 6.5 kilometers east of Corals here assigned to the genus Heritschioi- Keremeos in southern British Columbia, Canada des were first described by Smith (1935) from (48°12’20”N, 119°43’20”W; Figure 1). On the basis small fragments of colonies collected from the of complex axial structures similar to those in Blind Creek Limestone, which crops out in an iso- PE Article Number: 17.1.11A Copyright: Paleontological Society February 2014 Submission: 12 March 2013. Acceptance: 11 February 2014 Fedorowski, Jerzy, Bamber, E. Wayne, and Stevens, Calvin H. 2014. A revision of Heritschioides Yabe, 1950 (Anthozoa, Rugosa), latest Mississippian and earliest Pennsylvanian of western North America. Palaeontologia Electronica Vol. 17, Issue 1;11A; 20p; palaeo-electronica.org/content/2014/686-the-coral-heritschioides FEDOROWSKI, BAMBER, & STEVENS: THE CORAL HERITSCHIOIDES FIGURE 1. Location map showing Blind Creek Limestone block (arrow); type locality of Heritschioides columbicum (Smith, 1935); modified from Danner et al. (1999, appendix 2, p. 4). Waagenophyllum Hayasaka, 1924, combined with any family (p. 89, family uncertain), and later other unique morphological features in the type avoided that question by using the term “Fascicu- specimens, Smith (1935) introduced the new spe- late Rugosa” (Wilson, 1982, p. 25) and placing cies Waagenophyllum columbicum. That identifica- species of Heritschioides immediately after those tion was questioned at the generic level by Yabe of Durhamina. (1950), who introduced the new generic name Her- The family Heritschioididae was erected by itschioides for Smith’s (1935) species and sug- Sando (1985). Subsequently, Wilson (1994) placed gested Corwenia Smith and Ryder, 1926 as a his newly described species of Heritschioides from possibly related genus. Yabe’s (1950) interpreta- California in that family. This assignment was later tion has found general acceptance, although the followed by Stevens and Rycerski (1989) for spe- family status of Heritschioides and its taxonomic cies from Permian strata of the accreted Stikine ter- relationships have remained controversial. Wilson rane of British Columbia, Canada, and by and Langenheim (1962) misinterpreted the tabulae Kossovaya (1997) for “Corwenia” densicolumella in Heritschioides as clinotabellae, rather than Dobrolyubova, 1936 and Heritschioides cf. carneyi biform tabulae in position I of Sutherland (1965), Wilson, 1982 from Cisuralian strata of the northern and placed the genus in the family Waagenophylli- Urals. Here it should be noted that all species dae. They referred to Heritschioides as cerioid in included in Heritschioides by authors such as Wil- their text (p. 509), but included fasciculate species son and Langenheim (1962), Stevens (1967), within it. Also, they erroneously attributed the Rowett (1969), Wilson (1982, 1994), and Kosso- authorship of the family Waagenophyllidae to Hud- vaya (1997) have already been transferred to other son (1958) who only elevated its status from the genera by Fedorowski et al. (2007), thereby estab- subfamily level introduced by Wang (1950). Herits- lishing that Heritschioides is not present in Permian chioides was included by Minato and Kato (1965) deposits and is perhaps restricted to Serpukhovian in their new family Durhaminidae, a concept fol- (?) to Moscovian strata. lowed by Stevens (1967) and Hill (1981). Wilson Lin et al. (1995, p. 528) placed Heritschioides (1980), who first revised the type collection of in the subfamily Aulophyllinae Dybowski, 1873, “Waagenophyllum” columbicum, did not assign it to thus returning to the concept of Yabe (1950). That 2 PALAEO-ELECTRONICA.ORG position and other aspects of the taxonomy of Her- (Kawamura and Stevens, 2012, p. 519, figure 2.16) itschioides-like corals were briefly discussed by from the same area and stratigraphic level. The Fedorowski et al. (2007, p. 100-101) and are more morphology of the axial structure and its taxonomic widely treated below in the remarks on the family value are discussed below in the remarks on the Aulophyllidae. In the most recent paper dealing family. with Heritschioides, Kawamura and Stevens (2012) accepted an independent status for the family Her- MATERIAL AND METHODS itschioididae and placed it within the suborder All thin sections of the type collection were re- Aulophyllina Hill, 1981. studied, but only a few were re-photographed to There also has been controversy concerning illustrate special features. The reader is referred to the stratigraphic position of the type locality, which papers by Smith (1935), Wilson (1980) and has been assigned to ages ranging from Late Mis- Fedorowski et al. (2007) for more complete docu- sissippian to Early Permian (Smith, 1935, p. 38; mentation. Unfortunately, the holotype and several Barnes and Ross, 1975, p. 1933; Wilson, 1980, p. paratypes are represented only by thin sections. 90-91; Danner, 1997, p. 24; Danner et al., 1999, The existence and location of the originally sec- appendix 2). Wilson (1980) accepted a Permian tioned specimens have not been documented. One age, although he mentioned (p. 90) doubts raised new thin section, prepared from paratype GSC in a written communication by Danner, who pointed 9061, was illustrated by Fedorowski et. al. (2007, to the occurrence of the foraminifer Endothyra at plate 8, figure 5). From the recently collected topo- the type locality indicating a Late Mississippian or type material, six of the best preserved specimens Early Pennsylvanian age. However, Wilson (1980, were selected for thin sectioning and serial peeling p. 90-91) concluded that the type locality may be in Calgary and Poznań, producing 26 transverse Lower Permian, because “the 10 other valid taxa of and well oriented longitudinal thin sections, 12 Heritschioides all are from Lower Permian rocks in peels of colony surfaces and three serial sections western North America.” In view of the misunder- of offsetting corallites with several peels each. Sev- standing of the taxonomic position of Permian spe- eral thin sections were photographed and some cies noted above, that conclusion cannot be were used as the basis for drawings made by the correct. Danner (1997) and Danner et al. (1999) senior author to better demonstrate the earliest later supported his earlier informal position with morphology of offsets, one of the characters critical more foraminiferal data (Danner et al., 1999, for the correct identification of specimens. appendix 2). He reported the genera Eostaffella, All colonies have been recrystallized, dolo- Endothyra, Plectogyra and Tetrataxis from the type mitized or silicified, and several corallites have locality and suggested a late Serpukhovian or early been compressed, crushed or partly destroyed by Bashkirian age for the Blind Creek Limestone. His pressure solution at their peripheries. A detailed suggestion was confirmed by B.L. Mamet and S. study of the macro-morphology was possible Pinard (personal commun., 1998; see Fedorowski despite those diagenetic alterations. The original et al. 2007, p. 100) and is accepted in the present microstructure of the septa was destroyed in most paper. A new collection of coral colonies made corallites, but remains recognizable in some. Also, from the type locality in 1998 by one of us (EWB) the serial peels are too poor to be illustrated. Thus, and several associates (see acknowledgments) only drawings based on serial thin sections of off- also produced Serpukhovian/early Bashkirian fora- sets are illustrated. minifers and conodonts and allowed a new The type specimens described in this paper approach to the genus Heritschioides, previously are in the type collection of the Geological Survey presented in an introductory manner by of Canada, Ottawa. Fedorowski et al. (2007, p. 79, 100-101). Kawamura and Stevens (2012) described the SYSTEMATIC PALAEONTOLOGY new species Heritschioides armstrongi