Asteroidea from the lower Kimmeridgian of Wapienno/Bielawy, Kuyavia region, north-central Poland

Authors

  • Michał Loba Polish Academy of Sciences Museum of the Earth in Warsaw, Aleja na Skarpie 20/26, 27, 00-488 Warszawa
  • Urszula Radwańska Faculty of Geology, University of Warsaw, Żwirki i Wigury 93, 02-089 Warszawa

Keywords:

Asteroidea, Taxonomy, Upper Jurassic, Lower Kimmeridgian, Poland.

Abstract

A relatively rich assemblage of starfish is recognised from the talus facies of an Upper Jurassic (lower Kimmeridgian) biohermal, sponge-cyanobacterial build-up from the Wapienno/Bielawy succession exposed in a salt-dome anticline in Kuyavia region, north-central Poland. The paper presents 8 taxa belonging to 4 genera (one new to science): Boxaster gen. nov., Noviaster Valette, 1929, Tylasteria Valette, 1929, Valettaster Lambert, 1914, and 4 families: Astropectinidae Gray, 1840, Goniasteridae Forbes, 1841, Sphaerasteridae Schöndorf, 1906 and Stauranderasteridae Spencer, 1913. Only a very few representatives of some of these taxa have formerly been reported from the Jurassic of Poland. Two species are new: Valettaster planus sp. nov. and Boxaster wapienensis gen. et sp. nov. The Jurassic starfish assemblage recognised from the Wapienno/Bielawy succession is interpreted as an offshore starfish fauna with the admixture of allochtonous shallow-water taxa. The lithology of the source deposits indicates their transport by storm agitation and/or mass movements. This fact strongly influenced the preservation state, all collected plates being disarticulated and most of them abraded.

Downloads

Published

2022-03-07

Issue

Section

Articles