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EPIBIONT AND TAPHONOMIC ANALYSIS OF PENNSYLVANIAN RUGOSE CORALS. *Price, J.D, *J.R. Sawyer and S.A. Hageman. |
| Examination of 300 solitary rugose corals (Caninia torquia) from the Beil Limestone Member (Upper Pennsylvanian) reveals seven different epibionts. Three major epibionts (algae, bryozoans, and worm tubes) represent the majority (96%). Worm tubes (Serpulopsis insita?) are dominant (47%) and have an inverse relationship in abundance with the equally distributed algae (Archaeolithophyllum sp.?) and bryozoans (Fistulipora). Epibionts were recorded for four upper and four lower quadrants. A chi-square test on the results confirms that the epibiont distribution had preferred quadrants. Overall, the bottom surface contained 12% more epibionts with algal epibionts being 34.6% and bryozoans 25.8% more likely on the bottom surface while worm tubes were only 4.8% more likely to occur on the top. Algae and bryozoans preferring to grow into a soft muddy substrate is improbable, suggesting that overturned corals are common in this depositional environment. This would create new substrates for algae and bryozoans to colonize as they became available. Corals displaying reoriented growth were common and completely overturned corals were present in 6.3% of the corals, some showing multiple occurrences of overturning on a single specimen. Taphonomic analysis revealed compaction is present in at least 34% of the corals. Broken surfaces only possessed worm tubes implying they were the only post-mortem epibiont. The worm tubes are fewer in number if algae and bryozoans are present. Algae and bryozoans have preferred locations on Caninia torquia but determining their preference is problematic because the corals are being reoriented during higher energy storm events and diagenesis is most likely obscuring epibionts on the top surfaces. |
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