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New unusual skeletal structure in an upper Carboniferous rugose coral, Klamath Mountains, northern California

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 May 2016

Calvin H. Stevens ,
Jerzy Fedorowski  and
Toshio Kawamura
Calvin H. Stevens
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, San Jose State University, San Jose, California 95192, USA,
Jerzy Fedorowski
Affiliation:
Institute of Geology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Makow Polnych 16, PL-61-606, Poznan, Poland,
Toshio Kawamura
Affiliation:
Miyagi University of Education, Aramaki 149, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-0845, Japan,
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Abstract

Unique among the Rugosa are specialized cyst-like structures in corals from an upper Carboniferous limestone within the Baird Formation in the Klamath Mountains, northern California. These structures, here referred to as septal cysts, occur mostly along the distal margins of the dark line extending along the axes of the major septa as seen in transverse section. However, they also commonly extend beyond the distal extent of those lines and may interrupt the fibrous coating in the more proximal parts of some septa. Their function is uncertain. Also present are small dissepiments which form a ring around the distal margins of the minor septa. These structures, however, do not appear to be related to the development of those septa. Some other taxa, including corals from the Bashkirian of Spain and the Kasimovian of Kansas, possess some specialized structures similar to those in the California specimens suggesting at least a remote relationship.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Paleontology , Volume 86 , Issue 1 , January 2012 , pp. 120 - 125
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society 

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