Comment on the paper of Gierlowski-Kordesch and Cassle “The ‘Spirorbis’ problem revisited: Sedimentology and biology of microconchids in marine–nonmarine transitions” [Earth-Science Reviews, 148 (2015): 209–227

Abstract

Gierlowski-Kordesch and Cassle (2015, Earth-Science Reviews 148, 209–227) interpreted microconchids (extinct tentaculitoid encrusters) as strictly marine, rejecting the previous conclusions that these organisms occupied a variety of habitats ranging from marine to non-marine. We argue that due to misunderstanding of previous statements concerning the affinity of microconchids, the authors used an actualistic approach and incorrectly compared microconchids with modern phoronids, which led to oversimplifications and misinterpretations. Also their idea that microconchids, as supposedly strictly marine organisms, were preserved in non-marine settings only because of transport by storm surges and tsunamis is unsupported on paleontological grounds. These errors led to mistaken conclusions about microconchid paleoecology that must be discussed in order to avoid an erroneous interpretation of microconchid paleoenvironments.