Large-sized Early Permian "caninioid" corals from the Karavanke Mountains, Slovenia

Abstract

© 2016, The Paleontological Society.A new monospecific "caninioid" genus, Preisingerella n. gen., from the lower Permian of the Karavanke Mountains (Southern Alps, Slovenia) is erected. The type species is Preisingerella stegovnikensis n. sp. The new taxon can be differentiated from other Caninia-type genera by its specific ontogeny and features of its dissepimentarium. Corals with such morphology had a wide distribution during the Carboniferous and early Permian, occurring in mostly shallow-water carbonate rocks. The phylogenetic relationships within this group are mostly unclear due to similarities in the adult stages. The earlier stages reveal the main distinguishing features that are decisive for a generic assignment, but these have rarely been well preserved and properly considered. The new taxon is compared with related genera of the Cyathopsidae and species of Caninella Gorskiy, 1938 characterized by lateral dissepiments. Large numbers of specimens of the new species, representing a monospecific assemblage, have been collected from the Born Formation at Mt. Stegovnik. Sedimentological and microfacies characteristics, as well as macro-and microfossil assemblages, underline this correlation. The fusulinoidean assemblage of the Born Formation, with Sphaeroschwagerina carniolica (Kahler and Kahler, 1937), as the predominant species, corresponds to the time span between the Sphaeroschwagerina moelleri-Schwagerina fecunda and Pseudofusulina moelleri zones, indicating a late Asselian to early Sakmarian age in the Southern Urals.