New findings and stratigraphical distribution of the Ovummuridae (Palaeozoic calcareous microfossils)

Abstract

The observation with the scanning electron microscope of polished, etched sections of Palaeozoic limestones enables the discovery of calcareous micro- and nannofossils, which can be attributed to the Incertae Sedis family Ovummuridae Munnecke, Servais and Vachard, 2000. These microfossils are only preserved in Konservat-Lagerstätten without late diagenetic overprint. New findings are made in sections of the Upper Silurian of the Barrandian area, Czech Republic, the Upper Carboniferous of the Donetz basin, Ukraine, the Lower Permian of the Ural mountains, Russia, and the Upper Permian of the Hindu Kush, Afghanistan. The Ovummuridae, which were totally unknown up to now, were possibly very abundant in carbonate platforms of all Palaeozoic periods, at least from the Silurian onward.