Same taxonomic name, different species: a threat to stromatoporoid biodiversity research

• Published in: Geologica Belgica Vol. 15; no. 4; pp. 236 - 244
• Main Author: WOLNIEWICZ, Pawel
• Format: Conference Proceeding Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bruxelles Geologica Belgica 2012; Université de Liège
• Subjects: Devonian; Earth sciences; Earth, ocean, space; Exact sciences and technology; palaeobiodiversity; Stromatoporellida; stromatoporoids; Europe; Ardennes; Western Europe; mountains; stromatoporoids; classification; Paleozoic; Coelenterata; Devonian; Stromatoporellida; collections; Stromatoporoidea; Invertebrata; Upper Devonian; errors; palaeobiodiversity
• ISSN: 1374-8505; 2034-1954

Taxonomic inconsistencies between two published collections on Devonian stromatoporoids were examined. The studied collections contain stromatoporoids sampled from the Middle and Upper Devonian from the Ardennes (collection by Lecompte) and the Holy Cross Mountains (collection by Kaźmierczak). The study was limited to stromatoporoid species that were assigned to the order Stromatoporellida. At least eight species which were described from the Devonian of both the Ardennes and the Holy Cross Mountains should be revised: F. ruedemanni, H. crassum, H. porosum, H. perseptatum, S. lensiforme, S. socialis, T. laceratum, T. pingue. Specimens that were assigned to C. damnoniensis, C. spissa, H. episcopale, H. schlueteri, P. cellulosum and S. huronense do not need to be revised. The inconsistencies may severely influence the outcome of palaeogeographic and biodiversity studies, since the error in not distributed randomly among stratigraphic intervals and it affects classification at the genus-level.