The trace fossil Lepidenteron lewesiensis: a taphonomic window on diversity of Late Cretaceous fishes

The trace fossil Lepidenteron lewesiensis (Mantell 1822) provides an exceptional taphonomic window to diversity of fishes as shown for the Upper Cretaceous of Poland, in the Middle Turonian–Lower Maastrichtian deposits of the Opole Trough, Miechów Trough, Mazury-Podlasie Homocline, and SE part of the Border Synclinorium. Lepidenteron lewesiensis is an unbranched burrow lined with small fish scales and bones, without a constructed wall. It contains scales, vertebrae, and bones of the head belonging to ten taxa of teleostean fishes: two undetermined teleosteans, six undetermined Clupeocephala, one Dercetidae, and one undetermined euteleostean. The preservation of fish remains suggests that fishes were pulled down into the burrow by an animal, probably by eunicid polychaetes.Das Spurenfossil Lepidenteron lewesiensis (Mantell 1822) ermöglicht einen biostratinomischen Einblick in die Diversität von Fischen, wie Fossilmaterial aus der Oberkreide von Polen zeigt. Es stammt aus dem Mittelturonium bis Untermaastrichtium des südöstlichen Abschnittes der Grenz-Synklinale, dem Opolen-Trog, dem Miechów-Trog und der Masuren-Podlachien-Homoklinale. L. lewesiensis ist ein unverzweigter Grabgang ohne ausgekleidete Wände, dessen Ränder von kleinen Fischschuppen und—knochen gebildet werden. Diese setzen sich aus Schuppen, Wirbel und Schädelknochen von zehn Teleostei-Taxa zusammen und zwar aus zwei unbestimmte Teleosteer, sechs unbestimmten Clupeocephala, einem Dercetidae und einem unbestimmten Euteleostei. Die Erhaltung der Fischüberreste deutet darauf hin, dass die Fische von einem Tier, wahrscheinlich einem Polychaeten der Familie Eunicidae, in den Bau gezogen wurden.We are very grateful to Dr. Lionel Cavin (Geneva) and the anonymous reviewer for constructive comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. Additional support was provided by the Jagiellonian University (DS funds), National Science Center (Grant Number: PRO-2011/01/N/ST10/07717), and the Laboratory of Geology (University of Lodz) BSt Grant No. 560/844. We are grateful to Dr. Johann Egger (Wien) and Kilian Eichenseer M.Sc. (Erlangen) for help with translating the abstract into German. We are grateful to Dr. Ursula Göhlich (Wien) for access to the Dercetis specimen

Late Turonian and Early Coniacian ventriculitid sponges (Lychniscosida) from Opole Trough (southern Poland) and their palaeoecological significance

Eight species of ventriculitid sponges (Order Lychniscosida Schrammen, 1903) are described from the Upper Turonian marly limestones and Lower Coniacian marls of the Opole Trough (southern Poland). Among them four have not previously been noted in this area. Two species, Astropegma stellata (Roemer, 1840) and Leiostracosia robusta (Schrammen, 1902) are reported from Turonian strata for the first time. The occurrence of ventriculitid sponges in the Upper Turonian–Lower Coniacian succession of the Opole Trough indicates a soft- bottom, calm-water environment, with depths below the storm-wave base and a low rate of sedimentation

Późnokredowe gąbki krzemionkowe z doliny środkowej Wisły (Polska Centralna) i ich znaczenie paleoekologiczne

Siliceous sponges are extremely abundant in the Upper Campanian-Maastrichtian opokas and marls of the Middle Vistula River Valley, situated in the western edge of the Lublin Basin, part of the Cretaceous German-Polish Basin. This is also the only one area in Poland where strata bearing the Late Maastrichtian sponges are exposed. The presented paper is a taxonomic revision of sponges collected from this region. Based both on existing and newly collected material comprising ca. 1750 specimens, 51 species have been described, including 18 belonging to the Hexactinosida, 15 - to the Lychniscosida and 18 - to Demospongiae. Among them, 28 have not been so far described from Poland. One new genus Varioporospongia, assigned to the family Ventriculitidae Smith and two new species Varioporospongia dariae sp. n. and Aphrocallistes calciformis sp. n. have been described. Comparison of sponge fauna from the area of Podilia, Crimea, Chernihov, and Donbas regions, as well as literature data point to the occurrence of species common in the analysed area and to the basins of Eastern and Western Europe. This in turn indicates good connections between particular basins of the European epicontinental sea during the Campanian-Maastrichtian. Analysis of the taxonomic composition of the Middle Vistula assem- blage suggests that the occurring sponge fauna is transitional between the faunas of Eastern and Western Europe, what may be linked with the central location of the Lublin Basin in the European epicontinental sea. The gradual upward decrease of taxonomic diversity of the Hexactinosida and Lychniscosida in the studied succession points to gradual basin shallowing, what is consistent with the global regressive trend by the end of the Cretaceous. The domination of the Hexactinellida over the lithistids in terms of diversity and abundance in the entire section allows us to estimate the maximum depth of the Late Campanian basin as 200-250 m and to constrain the minimum depth during the latest Maastrichtian as about 100 m

Hexactinellid sponges from the Santonian deposits of the Kraków area (Southern Poland)

Hexactinellid sponges are extremely abundant in the basal sequence of the Santonian of the Kraków region. This is the only known area in Poland where Santonian deposits with sponges are exposed. The studied sponges are redeposited and probably represent a Santonian or/and Coniacian assemblage. They inhabited a quiet, deeper part of the epicontinental sea that covered the southern part of Poland in Late Cretaceous times. This paper is a taxonomic revision of sponges collected from this region by the late Prof. J. Małecki. Based on existing old collections and newly collected material comprising 1020 specimens, 34 species have been described, including 14 belonging to the Hexactinosida and 20 to the Lychniscosida. All sponge species occurring in the Santonian succession of the Kraków area are also known from various Late Cretaceous sponge assemblages of Europe. Five species described, i.e. Eurete halli (Schrammen), Lefroyella favoidea Schrammen, Spirolophia tortuosa (Roemer), Coeloptychium lobatum Goldfuss, and Wollemannia araneosa Schrammen have not been so far noted in pre-Campanian deposits. The examined assemblage is particularly similar to the sponge fauna from the Middle Coniacian - Middle Santonian deposits of England and from the Lower Santonian of Russia (Saratov area)

Hexactinellid sponge assemblages across the Campanian.Maastrichtian boundary in the Middle Vistula River section, central Poland

The sponge fauna from the Upper Campanian.lowermost Maastrichtian succession of the Middle Vistula River valley (central Poland) is represented mainly by dictyid hexactinellid sponges (Hexactinosida and Lychniscosida). Their greatest abundance and taxonomic variability is noted in the "Inoceramus" inkermanensis Zone (Upper Campanian), and they are less diverse in the overlying (Upper Campanian) Trochoceramus costaecus Zone and lower "Inoceramus" redbirdensis Zone. In the upper "Inoceramus" redbirdensis Zone (basal Maastrichtian in the sense of the Tercis rather than the Boreal definition) they are extremely rare. With the beginning of the Maastrichtian the number of dictyid sponges gradually increases. The observed changes in the abundance and taxonomic variability of the dictyid sponges indicate environmental changes in the latest Campanian.earliest Maastrichtian sea in the area. It seems that changes in basin bathymetry, confined to eustatic sea-level changes in the latest Campanian and early Maastrichtian, were the most important factor. Progressive shallowing of the basin in the latest Campanian drastically restricted the development of dictyids. In the peak regression, the sea level could have fallen to only several tens of metres. The gradual recovery of the sponge assemblages correlates with subsequent deepening of the basin with the start of the Maastrichtian

The origin of phosphatized sponges from the Danian glauconitic sandstone from Nasi3ów (central Poland, Vistula River valley

The sponge fauna from the Danian glauconitic sandstone as exposed at Nasiłów, contains all species known from the underlying Upper Maastrichtian siliceous chalk and, additionally, some species not documented hitherto from the latter unit. The stratigraphic ranges of the all studied sponges indicate their Late Maastrichtian age; there are no Danian sponges in the glauconitic sandstone. Two assemblages of sponges may be distinguished in the glauconitic sandstone, based on the analysis of the infilling of their interspicular space: 1) sponges infilled with phosphatized siliceous chalk and 2) sponges infilled with phosphatized glauconitic siliceous chalk. Petrographic study indicates that the host deposit of the first assemblage was a siliceous chalk. The second type originated from a glauconitic siliceous chalk unit, probably equivalent to the so-called Żyrzyn Beds of Late Maastrichtian age. The glauconitic chalk orginally overlain the siliceous chalk at Nasiłów, but has been subsequently eroded. Detailed analysis of the relations between two types of infillings allows to distinguish a latest Maastrichtian stage of erosion after deposition of the siliceous chalk, not recognised by previous authors. In this erosional stage, phosphatized sponges originally embedded in siliceous chalk were re-exposed and subsequently buried during the deposition of the glauconitic siliceous chalk unit

Facies and sedimentation of Coniacian deposits of the Kraków Swell in the Wielkanoc area (southern Poland)

Coniacian deposits, ca. 1.5 m thick, cropping out in the Wielkanoc Quarry, north of Kraków in southern Poland, consist of firm, nodular and, less commonly, marly limestones with horizons of in situ, slightly phosphatized hexactinellid sponges and thick-shelled inoceramid bivalves. The succession is composed of foraminiferal-inoceramid packstones with common sand-sized quartz and glauconite grains at the base, passing upwards into foraminiferal or foraminiferal-inoceramid wackestones with or without rare glauconite. A microfacies analysis shows that planktonic foraminifers are the dominant forms, while benthic forms are rare. The facies indicates that sedimentation in the Wielkanoc area on the Kraków Swell, which separated the deeper Mid-Polish Trough Zone to the north-east and the Opole Trough Zone to the south-west, was generally calm (documented by abundant wackestones) and slow (indicated by the dominant sedimentary “coccolith system” and presence of glauconite) during the Coniacian. Rare episodes of non-deposition are recorded by episodes of phosphatization and minor intra-Coniacian discontinuity surfaces. The presence of hexactinellid sponges in the section studied are consistent with a calm environment, below the storm-wave base, with low rates of sedimentation. Subhercynian (latest Turonian–Coniacian Ilsede Phase) local tectonic movements had an important influence on the evolution of the region. They presumably led to subsidence of the Wielkanoc Block during the Early Coniacian. These movements were probably associated with activity on the Kraków–Myszków Fault Zone

A highly diverse siliceous sponge fauna (Porifera: Hexactinellida, Demospongiae) from the Eocene of north-eastern Italy: systematics and palaeoecology

A siliceous sponge fauna, consisting of more than 900 specimens, is described from an early Lutetian tuffite horizon in the Chiampo Valley, Lessini Mountains, north-eastern Italy. Thirty-two taxa (15 Hexactinellida, 17 Demospongiae) are determined and illustrated, belonging to 24 genera, two of which are new (Rigonia gen. nov. and Coronispongia gen. nov.). Among these, 10 new species are proposed: Stauractinella eocenica sp. nov., Rigonia plicata gen. et sp. nov., Hexactinella clampensis sp. nov., Camerospongia visentinae sp. nov., C. tuberculata sp. nov., Toulminia italica sp. nov., Coronispongia confossa gen. et sp. nov., Cavispongia scarpai sp. nov., Corallistes multiosculata sp. nov. and Bolidium bertii sp. nov. Of the genera identified at Chiampo, 14 range back to the Cretaceous, three to the Jurassic and one to the Triassic, while six are still extant. The studied fauna shows affinities with sponges from the Eocene of Spain and the Cretaceous of Germany. The sponge fossils are uncompressed and bodily preserved, but the original siliceous skeleton is dissolved and substituted by calcite. Delicate attachments can be nevertheless documented: some sponges attached to a hard substrate by encrustation, while others were anchored on soft sediments by root-like structures. The presence of different modes of attachment suggests heterogeneous substrate conditions. Small, possibly young, sponges are recorded too. The sponge fauna is essentially autochthonous and lived in the middle-outer part of a carbonate ramp, where it formed clusters. This study extends the geographical and stratigraphical range of many sponge taxa, including Camerospongia, Toulminia, Ozotrachelus and Bolidium, previously documented only from the Cretaceous. The Recent calcified demosponge genus Astrosclera is reported here in the Cenozoic for the first time, having been reported previously in the Triassic only. Additionally, this study documents the second worldwide occurrence of the Recent sphinctozoan genus Vaceletia in the Palaeogene, formerly recorded exclusively in Australia. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:B3466955-8E20-429A-89BE-42BAEB4002E8 \ua9 2016, \ua9 The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London 2016. All Rights Reserved