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Taphonomy and palaeoecology of the green Devonian gypidulid brachiopods from the Aferdou El Mrakib, eastern Anti-Atlas, Morocco

Tessitore, Lorena ; Schemm-Gregory, Mena ; Korn, Dieter ; Wild, Ferdinand ; Naglik, Carole ; Klug, Christian

In: Swiss Journal of Palaeontology, 2013, vol. 132, no. 1, p. 23-44

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    Titre
    • Taphonomy and palaeoecology of the green Devonian gypidulid brachiopods from the Aferdou El Mrakib, eastern Anti-Atlas, Morocco
    Auteur
    • Tessitore, Lorena. Palaeontological Institute and Museum, University of Zurich, Karl Schmid-Strasse 4, 8006, Zurich, Switzerland
    • Schemm-Gregory, Mena. Centro de Geociências da Universidade de Coimbra, Largo Marquês de Pombal, 3000-272, Coimbra, Portugal
    • Korn, Dieter. Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz-Institut für Evolutions- und Biodiversitätsforschung, Humboldt-Universität, Invalidenstraße 43, 10115, Berlin, Germany
    • Wild, Ferdinand. Anorganisch-chemisches Institut, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 5087, Zurich, Switzerland
    • Naglik, Carole. Palaeontological Institute and Museum, University of Zurich, Karl Schmid-Strasse 4, 8006, Zurich, Switzerland
    • Klug, Christian. Palaeontological Institute and Museum, University of Zurich, Karl Schmid-Strasse 4, 8006, Zurich, Switzerland
    Type de document
    • Postprint
    Langue
    • Anglais
    Publié dans
    • Swiss Journal of Palaeontology, 2013, vol. 132, no. 1, p. 23-44. SP Birkhäuser Verlag Basel
    Autre version électronique
    Identifiant OAI-PMH
    • oai:doc.rero.ch:315386
    Summary
    On Aferdou El Mrakib, a large reef mound in the Maïder region (Anti-Atlas, Morocco), thick-shelled gypidulids of two genera are locally very abundant. Like Stringocephalus in the shallow water limestone formations in Germany, these Moroccan brachiopods of the genera Devonogypa and Ivdelinia often display greenish shells. By analysing these shells by EDX, it turned out that the colour was possibly caused by impurities of Fe2+-ions. The concentration varies, indicating that the colour is less dependent on the concentration than on shell thickness, because only the thickest parts of the shells appear green and thin-shelled forms never display the green colour. There is also some indication that the Fe content increases towards deeper shell layers (further away from the surface). In addition, we examined the quality and spatial distribution of sublethal injuries in over 200 specimens of Devonogypa and Ivdelinia. Shape, spatial distribution on the shells, and abundance of the sublethal injuries support the hypotheses that (1) the injuries had several causes, (2) some of these were inflicted by predators, probably cephalopods, and (3) many fractures and deformations might have been caused by the brachiopod shells hitting each other in dense populations in agitated water. The existence of dense clusters, built by the association of members of both genera or of only one taxon, is corroborated by the patchy occurrence of these brachiopods