Significance of coiled protocoralla in some Mississippian horn corals

Volume / Part: 20 / 1
Publication Date: January 1977
Page(s): 47 - 58
Authored By: William J. Sando

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Planispirally coiled protocoralla are described in Cyathaxonia tantilla (Miller) from the Lower Missis-sippian (Lower Carboniferous) of the western United States, the first record of this phenomenon in corals. Coiling is interpreted as a mode of attachment of young coralla to planktonic algae. The postulated pseudoplanktonic growth habit may be a significant factor in the widespread distribution of this species and other species of Cyathaxonia, which are generally found in rocks that record a bottom environment considered unfavourable for optimum coral growth.

Palaeontology - Volume 20 Part 1 Pages 47-58

Palaeontology - Volume 20 Part 1 Pages 47-58

Citations

SANDO, W. J. 1977. Significance of coiled protocoralla in some Mississippian horn corals. Palaeontology, 20, 1, 47–58.