Additional records of Late Cretaceous and Early Palaeogene echinoids from the Gschliefgraben (Ultrahelvetic, Upper Austria)

Abstract

Late Cretaceous and Early Palaeogene echinoid faunules collected in recent years from the surface of an active mudflow at the Gschliefgraben near Gmunden (east of the Traunsee, Upper Austria) are both fairly diverse and of considerable palaeobiogeographic interest. So far, only (Late) Campanian taxa have been described and illustrated. In the present paper, notes are presented on additional Campanian, Maastrichtian and Palaeogene taxa, namely Lampadocorys? estermanni sp.nov., Lampadocorys? sp.nov. 1, Lampadocorys? sp.nov. 2, Rispolia cf. subtrigonata (CATULLO), Seunaster cf. heberti (SEUNES), Echinocorys ancileformis MOSKVIN & SHIMANSKAYA, Echinocorys ex gr. fonticola ARNAUD, Ganbirretia? sp., Micraster aturicus HÉBERT in SEUNES, Micraster corcolumbarium DESOR, Micraster stolleyi (LAMBERT in DE GROSSOUVRE), Pseudogibbaster? sp., and Coraster beneharnicus SEUNES. These species indicate a close relationship with the Tethyan areas of northern Spain and SW France, the Crimea, Georgia and the northern Caucasus, although a number of holasteroid and micrasterid taxa would appear to be more common and widely distributed in boreal settings (e.g., NW Europe).