Paleoecologic and stratigraphic importance of the fungus reduviasporonites stoschianus from the ‘early‐middle’ Pennsylvanian of the Copacabana formation, Peru

Abstract

Specimens of the fungus Reduviasporonites stoschianus (Balme 1980) Elsik 1999 were recovered from the Copacabana Formation of Peru. Biostratigraphic data from smaller foraminifera, fusulinids and associated calcareous microfossils indicate that occurrences are ‘Early‐Middle’ Pennsylvanian ('Morrowan‐Atokan'). This is the oldest record of R. stoschianus, a fungus whose quantitative dominance and geographic breadth at the Permian‐Triassic boundary is believed to represent an ecological crisis event. The presence of these fungi in a stratigraphically restricted interval of the Peruvian Pennsylvanian suggests a similar interpretation.