Lower Famennian phytoplankton from the Holy Cross Mountains, Central Poland

Abstract

A rich phytoplankton assemblage and low diversity miospore microflora is described from the Lower Famennian deposits of the Kowala Quarry, Holy Cross Mountains, Central Poland. This assemblage is assigned to the Pw acritarcha zone, which is correlated with the late triangularis–crepida standard conodont zones based on appearance of the acritarch Puteoscortum williereae. Comparison of the present palynological results with well-documented data from Belgium clearly indicates differences in marine microflora composition in both regions. The important taxa Visbysphaera (?) occultata, Ephelopalla media, and Palacanthus tripus in Belgium are absent in the samples from the Holy Cross Mountains and by contrast, the phytoplankton frequent in Poland ( Lophosphaeridium, Dictyotidium or Cymatiosphaera) are rare in Belgium. The taxonomical difference between the Holy Cross Mountains and Belgium palynoflora may probably reflect environmental differences: offshore and more proximal environmental conditions respectively. Three new species ( Leiofusa turnauae sp. nov., Lophosphaeridium irregularis sp. nov. and Veryhachium? kowalae sp. nov.) have been formally instituted and two new taxa ( Centrasphaeridium sp. A and Centrasphaeridium sp. B) are left in open nomenclature.