Valvasoria carniolica n.gen. n.sp., a Triassic Worm from Slovenia

Carnian limestones exposed from Mojstrana to Triglav (the highest Slovenian mountain), are very important biostratigraphically, and especially for the palaeogeographic interpretation of the Upper Triassic. Outcrops can be traced in the Vrata Valley extending in a narrow belt several kilometres in a north-eastward - eastward direction. A very quiet depositional environment, with reducing conditions at the sea floor, permitted the preservation of soft-bodied animals. Valvasoria carniolica is a new genus and species. It has a cylindrical body with an expanded anteriormost portion. The systematic position of Valvasoria is unknown, however it might be related to Nematoda or Sipunculida

NEW TRIASSIC ASTEROIDEA (ECHINODERMATA) SPECIMENS AND THEIR EVOLUTIONARY SIGNIFICANCE

The Paleozoic-Mesozoic transition saw the disappearance of asteroid stem groups and the ascent of the crown group, but late Paleozoic and Triassic asteroids are rare and transition events are poorly documented. Three new Middle and Late Triassic specimens augment existing data; included are a specimen of Trichasteropsis weissmanni from Germany, a specimen of Trichasteropsis? sp. indet. from Italy, and a possible member of the extant Poraniidae from Slovenia. Presence of a small ossicle at the interbrachial midline and adjacent to the marginal series of the new T. weissmanni specimen is consistent with similar expressions not only of other trichasteropsids but also occurrence of two interbrachial ossicles in Paleozoic, stem-group asterozoans; presence is in turn consistent with a hypothesis of derivation of the axillary/odontophore coupling from two ossicles rather than direct derivation of the crown-group odontophore from a single stem-group axillary. Morphology of Trichasteropsis? sp. indet., including, for example, the evenly-tapering arms are reminiscent of those of diverse crown-group asteroids whereas the enlarged distal arms of T. weissmanni are unique, the morphology of T? sp. indet. thereby potentially indicative of a plesiomorphic, stemward positioning within the Trichasteropsiidae. The range of the Poraniidae is tentatively extended to the Carnian. Similarities shared by the Poraniidae and the Trichasteropsiidae suggest stemward positioning within crown-group diversification; however, known Triassic fossils do not appear closely related to extant taxa identified in recent molecular studies as basal within the crown-group. A temperate climate is suggested as preferred by the Triassic asteroids rather than a tropical, warmer one

Valvasoria carniolica n.gen. n.sp., a Triassic Worm from Slovenia

Carnian limestones exposed from Mojstrana to Triglav (the highest Slovenian mountain), are very important biostratigraphically, and especially for the palaeogeographic interpretation of the Upper Triassic. Outcrops can be traced in the Vrata Valley extending in a narrow belt several kilometres in a north-eastward - eastward direction. A very quiet depositional environment, with reducing conditions at the sea floor, permitted the preservation of soft-bodied animals. Valvasoria carniolica is a new genus and species. It has a cylindrical body with an expanded anteriormost portion. The systematic position of Valvasoria is unknown, however it might be related to Nematoda or Sipunculida

Conodonts and foraminifera from the "Raibl Beds" (Carnian) of the Karavanke Mountains, Slovenia : stratigraphical and palaeobiological implications

Themicropalaeontology of the "Raibl Beds" of the Košuta Nappe in the western KaravankeMts., Slovenia, is described. The presence of the conodont apparatus of Nicoraella? budaensis Kozur and Mock is demonstrated and together with other fossils it confirms a Carnian age. A comparison of the Nicoraella skeletal apparatus with two other Triassic apparatuses is made. The benthic foraminifera Aulotortus sinuosus, A. tumidus, Prorakusia salaji, Pilamminella kuthani and Endothyra kuepperi are recognized. Their stratigraphical range corresponds to the foraminiferal Pilamminella kuthani Interval-Zone. Altogether the palaeontological content of an 85 m-thick section in the upper part of the "Raibl Beds" below Mt. Jepca is described. The diverse fossil content of this section contributes to the intercalibration of Upper Triassic conodont, foraminifer and dasyclad zonations

Conodont biostratigraphy of the Early Triassic in eastern Slovenia

The Early Triassic is a critical interval for the study of recovery from the terminal Permian mass extinction, as there are small-scale extinction events, which may have contributed to the delayed recovery. The systematic measuring and sampling of a 12-m-thick section at the Mokrice locality in eastern Slovenia has resulted in the recovery of a conodont fauna from the Olenekian beds. Four conodont zones have been recognized. These zones are in ascending order as follows: the Hadrodontina aequabilis Zone, Platyvillosus corniger Zone, Platyvillosus regularis Zone, and Triassospathodus hungaricus Zone. These conodont zones confirm the proposed conodont biozonation sequence in western Slovenia and have correlation value especially for the western marginal Tethys. Multielement conodont apparatuses of Triassospathodus hungaricus and Platyvillosus regularis have been reconstructed based on conodont elements that were recently obtained from the Slovenian sections. Although the S2element was not found, the apparatus indicates that the conodont species “Spathognathodus” hungaricus should be assigned to the genus Triassospathodus