Clionolithes cervicornis ( Vogel, Golubic & Brett, 1987 )

Wisshak, Max, 2017, Taming an ichnotaxonomical Pandora’s box: revision of dendritic and rosetted microborings (ichnofamily: Dendrinidae), European Journal of Taxonomy 390, pp. 1-99 : 30-32

Clionolithes cervicornis ( Vogel, Golubic & Brett, 1987)

Fig. 8

Ramodendrina cervicornis Vogel et al., 1987: 270 , fig. 5.

“ Chondrites ” symmetricus Solle, 1938 (partim?): 168, fig. 19 (fig. 20 = a brachiopod muscle scar).

Olkenbachia hirsuta – Solle 1938 (partim): 162, figs 5–7, 10 (figs 2–4, 8, 11, 14 = C. radicans , figs 9, 15, 17–18 = C. pannosus and fig. 13 = Nododendrina nodosa ).

Dendroid Form 1 – (?) Vogel & Brett 2009: 15, fig. 29.

Clionolithes cervicornis – Furlong & McRoberts 2014: 138, fig. 6.2.

Original diagnosis

Rosette-shaped repeatedly branched systems up to 2.5 mm (1.50 ± 0.40 [10]) in diameter. Branches diverge from the main trunk, spreading radially in straight line or slightly curved, at angles ranging from 40° to 95° (64 ± 13 [50]). The main trunk is 80–250 µm wide. The primary branches (those proximal to the trunk) are 60–225 µm (133 ± 44 [24]) wide, the distal branches are 25–85 µm (52 ± 11 [100]) wide. The branches often adhere closely to the substrate surface. They have smooth and rounded surfaces, and are circular in cross section. They do not taper and have rounded, rarely pointed tips. Branch diameter decreases only slightly from primary to secondary and tertiary (distal) branches, and remains constant (or even increases slightly) between branching points. The branching varies in density, without anastomoses. The main aperture to the surface was not detected.

Emended diagnosis

Branches with nearly constant diameter diverge from the main trunk, spreading and bifurcating radially in straight or slightly curved lines, adhere closely to the substrate surface and do not anastomose. They have smooth and rounded surfaces and rounded, rarely pointed tips.

Original description

n/a, but see detailed original diagnosis.

Type material, locality and horizon

The holotype ( Fig. 8A ) was epoxy cast in a shell of the brachiopod Athyris McCoy, 1844 from the Otisco Member, Middle Devonian, sampled at a cliff exposure along a railroad cut 300 m E of Portland Point, Cayuga County, New York, USA. It is deposited at the Institut für Geowissenschaften , Goethe- Universität , Frankfurt , Germany ( Bo 1/4).

Remarks

Originally established within the ichnogenus Ramodendrina, which according to Furlong & McRoberts (2014) is a junior synonym of Clionolithes . A number of paratypes of Olkenbachia hirsuta (junior synonym of C. radicans ; Fig. 8 D–E) are morphologically reminiscent of C. cervicornis , as is a very large single specimen that was only tentatively addressed by Solle (1938) as “ Chondrites ” symmetricus ( Fig. 8F ).

Clionolithes cervicornis is distinguished from other ichnospecies of Clionolithes by the nearly constant diameter of the radiating galleries, their close connection to the substrate surface (= open roof) and the distinctly rounded terminations.

Figures

Fig. 8. Clionolithes cervicornis (Vogel, Golubic & Brett, 1987). A. SEM of pyritised and epoxycast holotype in a Devonian brachiopod shell from New York State, USA. B–C. SEM overview and close-up of another specimen from the original material of Vogel et al., recorded in a coral substrate. D–E. Overview and close-up of several natural casts that are part of the suite of paratypes of Olkenbachia hirsuta Solle, 1938 (junior synonym of Clionolithes radicans Clarke, 1908), from the Devonian near Koblenz, Germany (compare with Solle 1938: fig. 5). F. Holotype of nomen nudum “Chondrites” symmetricus (Solle 1938), a morphologically similar (cf.) but unusually large specimen from the Devonian near Koblenz, Germany.