Aretz et al_2011.pdf - ORBi - Université de Liège

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Kölner Forum Geol. Paläont., 19 (2011)
M. ARETZ, S. DELCULÉE, J. DENAYER & E. POTY (Eds.)
Abstracts, 11th Symposium on Fossil Cnidaria and Sponges, Liège, August 19-29, 2011
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Comments on subspecies of Calceola sandalina
Anthony WRIGHT 1 & Harald PRESCHER 2
1 School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, N.S.W. 2522,
Australia; tony.wright@optusnet.com.au
2 Hauptstraße 18, D-50169 Kerpen, Germany; haraldprescher@online.de
The neotype of the type species of Calceola, C. sandalina LINNÉ, 1771, was selected and illustrated by
Richter (1928). From the Eifel, it was originally illustrated by GOLDFUSS (1840), and is a complete specimen
of the slipper coral with the operculum in place. The inner surface of the operculum is therefore not
exposed. However, many well-preserved Calceola opercula are known from the Eifel and there can be no
real doubt about the generic assignment of this specimen, despite studies (WRIGHT 2001, 2006) of operculate
corals that have suggested that features of the inner opercular surface are crucial for generic assignment.
But what are the diagnostic features of Calceola sandalina sandalina?
GOLDFUSS (1840) erected C. s. var. dilatata and C. s. exaltata, both of which were regarded by RICHTER
(1928) as junior synonyms of the type subspecies. Other German subspecies of C. sandalina erected were C.
s. alta RICHTER 1916; C. s. lata RICHTER 1916; and C. s. westfalica LOTZE 1928. RICHTER (1928) placed lata as a
synonym of sandalina. More subspecies have been erected for material from other countries (mainly China)
but, at this stage, they are irrelevant to the problems of German species.
The central question is what is the precise stratigraphic distribution (and, indeed, taxonomic status) of
these German infra-specific taxa, and how can they be distinguished? Focussing on German subspecies, it is
well known that these were largely based on the apical angle of the corallite, the curvature of the counter
face, and the related length/width ratio of the corallite. No attention has been paid to other morphological
features such as shape of the operculum, numbers of septa or patterns of septal insertion. RICHTER (1928,
fig. 13) and LOTZE (1928, Sauerland) both showed that sandalina sandalina is from the Eifelian, s. alta is from
the lower Givetian, and s. westfalica is from the late Givetian; an unassigned form was show by RICHTER
(1928, fig. 13) from the early Eifelian “Cultrijugatus Schichten’. WERNER (1968) reported C. sandalina from
the late Emsian. Recent detailed collecting from carefully documented stratigraphic locations in the Eifel
should shed some further light on this problem.
GOLDFUSS, G.A. (1834-40): Petrefacta Germaniae. - Zweiter Teil, Dusseldorf: 225-312.
LOTZE, F. (1928): Beitrag zur Kenntnis der Mutationen von Calceola sandalina (L.). – Senckenbergiana, 10: 158-169.
RICHTER, R. (1916): Zur stratigraphischen Beurteilung von Calceola (Calceola sandalina Lam. n. mut. lata und alta). -
Neues Jahrbuch für Mineralogie, 1916/2: 31-46.
RICHTER, R. (1928): Fortschritte in der Kenntnis der Calceola-Mutationen. - Senckenbergiana, 10: 169-184.
WERNER, R. (1968): Calceola sandalina aus den Heisdorf-Schichten (Unter-Devon) der Eifel. - Senckenbergiana lethaea,
49: 575-580.
WRIGHT, A.J. (2001): A new Early Devonian operculate coral genus from eastern Australia. - Records of the Western
Australian Museum, Supplement 58: 21-35.
WRIGHT, A.J. (2006): New genera of Early Devonian calceolide corals from Australia and France. - Palaeoworld, 15: 185-
193.