1. A new brittle star from the early Carboniferous of Poland and its implications on Paleozoic modern-type ophiuroid systematics
- Author
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Ben Thuy, Manfred Kutscher, and Bartosz J. Płachno
- Subjects
Echinodermata ,Ophiuroidea ,crown-group ,evolution ,Carboniferous ,Tournaisian ,Poland ,Fossil man. Human paleontology ,GN282-286.7 ,Paleontology ,QE701-760 - Abstract
The fossil record of Paleozoic ophiuroids includes a number of forms which share striking similarities with modern relatives in terms of skeletal morphology. These so called modern-type Paleozoic ophiuroids yield an enormous potential for a better understanding of ophiuroid evolution, yet the scarcity of accurate and sufficiently detailed morphological descriptions available to date precludes any further-reaching assessments. Here, we describe an articulated ophiuroid specimen from the Late Tournaisian (early Carboniferous) of Czatkowice quarry, southern Poland, as a new species Aganaster jagiellonicus sp. nov. The good preservation of the specimen allowed for a morphological analysis at a level comparable to recent ophiuroid descriptions. It shows remarkable morphological similarities with extant former ophiolepidids Ophiomusium and Ophiosphalma. The new find thus contributes to a solid basis for future investigations on the position of the modern-type Paleozoic ophiuroid in the phylogeny of the class.
- Published
- 2015
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