Preliminary report on the occurrence of the ichthyoliths in the Upper Famennian and Lower Tournaisian of the Moravian Karst

Abstract

A relatively large number of microvertebrate remains (ichthyoliths) was obtained during a recent micropaleontological research of the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary interval from the Líšeň Formation, Moravian Karst. Sections were sampled from the late Famennian Middle Palmatolepis gracilis expansa to the early Tournaisian Siphonodella bransoni conodont Zones in bed-by-bed manner. Samples were dissolved in 15% acetic acid and ichthyoliths were hand-picked from the sieved insoluble residues and then studied under a binocular microscope. Preservation of many presented ichthyoliths is excellent, allowing determination on the genus or even species-level. Despite the well preservation, a large number of obtained ichthyoliths were preliminary assigned only to the higher taxonomic units. The ichthyoliths belong to a wide range of taxonomic groups comprising chondrichthyan, sarcopterygian, actinopterygian and acanthodian classes. The class Actinopterygii, chondrichthyan orders Squatinactiformes (Squatinactis sp.) and Ctenacanthiformes, symmoriid shark family Falcatidae (genus Denaea sp.) and some species of the phoebodonthid (Phoebodus cf. limpidus, Phoebodus gothicus and Th rinacodus tranquilis) and protacrodontid (?Deihim sp.) sharks are reported for the first time from the Moravian Karst Paleozoic sequences in this paper.A relatively large number of microvertebrate remains (ichthyoliths) was obtained during a recent micropaleontological research of the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary interval from the Líšeň Formation, Moravian Karst. Sections were sampled from the late Famennian Middle Palmatolepis gracilis expansa to the early Tournaisian Siphonodella bransoni conodont Zones in bed-by-bed manner. Samples were dissolved in 15% acetic acid and ichthyoliths were hand-picked from the sieved insoluble residues and then studied under a binocular microscope. Preservation of many presented ichthyoliths is excellent, allowing determination on the genus or even species-level. Despite the well preservation, a large number of obtained ichthyoliths were preliminary assigned only to the higher taxonomic units. The ichthyoliths belong to a wide range of taxonomic groups comprising chondrichthyan, sarcopterygian, actinopterygian and acanthodian classes. The class Actinopterygii, chondrichthyan orders Squatinactiformes (Squatinactis sp.) and Ctenacanthiformes, symmoriid shark family Falcatidae (genus Denaea sp.) and some species of the phoebodonthid (Phoebodus cf. limpidus, Phoebodus gothicus and Th rinacodus tranquilis) and protacrodontid (?Deihim sp.) sharks are reported for the first time from the Moravian Karst Paleozoic sequences in this paper

    Similar works