Stellaphyllia, Fernández-Martínez & Tourneur & López-Alcántara, 2003

Fernández-Martínez, Esperanza, Tourneur, Francis & López-Alcántara, Antonio, 2003, A new Middle Devonian heterocoral from Spain, Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 48 (4), pp. 531-546 : 533

Genus Stellaphyllia nov. Fernández Martínez and Tourneur

Type species: Stellaphyllia luciensis gen. et sp. nov.

Derivation of the name: With reference to the stellate external profile of some specimens.

Diagnosis.—Heterophyllidae with between four and six,occasionally up to seven,septa at the corallite periphery,with thickened septal edges. Sections taken from young specimens,or from near the distal end of mature coralla show a stellate outer profile. Tabulotheca is strongly developed in the mature specimens. Microstructure of septa and interseptal elements composed of microlamellar tissue enveloping granular median plates.

Remarks.— Hexaphyllia Stuckenberg,1904 is a genus which was originally diagnosed by the presence of only six septa,and by a thick peripheral stereozone. It has often been regarded in the literature as an early stage of long Heterophyllia . Poty (1978) established the generic status of this form,but some sections possessing six septa can also be considered early stages of other genera. In addition, Rodríguez and Comas−Rengifo (1988 –89) described as Hexaphyllia ? cf. mirabilis a population of heterocorals from the Carboniferous of Spain which exhibits a wide range of morphological variations,in − cluding a septal number which ranges between four and nine. A sound revision of this genus is therefore necessary in order to establish its true status and diagnostic features.

Our material differs from all the specimens previously assigned to Hexaphyllia , not so much for their septal number, but rather because of the comparative thickness of both the bahamite facies biostrome/patchreef facies packstone facies grainstone facies brachiopod/bryozoan facies massive to domal stromatoporoids lamellar stromatoporoids ramose stromatoporoids massive to domal Tabulata branching Tabulata bryozoans udoteacean algae brachiopods tentaculitids crinoid ossicles septal (stellate profiles) and tabular (rounded profiles) sclerenchyme,and thus for their strongly stellate profile,or in their scarcity of interseptal loculi.