New Data On Lower Permian Rugose Corals From The Southern Karavanke Mountains (Slovenia)

Studies of upper Palaeozoic corals from the Southern Alps (Karavanke Mountains in Slovenia and Carnic Alps along the Austrian/Italian border) started at the end of the 19th century. Since the mid-20th century, corals of the Karavanke Mountains have been studied in detail by several authors. Recently, several coral type localities and the coral groups occurring therein have been reinvestigated. This paper deals in particular with the study of Carinthiaphyllum Heritsch, 1936 and all previously known data have been revised within this study. Most specimens of Carinthiaphyllum originate from museum collections and from new findings in the Dovzanova Soteska area of northern Slovenia. Additional material is represented by newly found samples from the locality of Mt. Boc in eastern Slovenia. The stratigraphic position and age of the Carinthiaphyllum occurrences are determined by fusulinid and conodont assemblages. Two species, Carinthiaphyllum crasseseptatum Graf & Ramovs, 1965 and C. ramovsi n. sp., are described herein. New morphological features, including root-like protrusions and connecting stereoplasmic tubes, have been found for the first time in gregaria growth mode. Therefore, these new observations provide evidence of a solitary gregaria growth mode: individuals are invariably separated with contact and reciprocal support only by root-like, sometimes channeled tubes occurring as outgrowths of the archaeothecal wall. An emended diagnosis of Carinthiaphyllum is proposed herein. The studied collection is housed in the Museum fur Naturkunde (Leibniz-Institut) at the Humboldt University in Berlin.