Heliolitine corals of the topmost Douro and overlying formations (Upper Silurian), Canadian Arctic islands

Abstract

Heliolitine corals occur in Upper Silurian strata of the topmost Douro, lower Barlow Inlet, and lower Somerset Island formations in the Boothia Uplift region. The fauna includesHeliolites(nine species),Propora(two species), the stelliporellid generaPodollites(three species) andStelliporella(one species), and the plasmoporidSquameolites(one species). Species present but not previously reported from the region includeHeliolites arcuatusBondarenko,Heliolites uksunayensisMironova,Stelliporella ilensisBondarenko,Podollites assitusnew species,Podollites parryinew species,Podollites plectilisnew species,Propora tubulata(Lonsdale) and an unidentified species ofPropora.All species occur in reef and reef-associated facies of open carbonate shelf and ramp settings. In restricted nonreefal carbonate shelf settings, diversity attenuates to a minimum, exemplified by numerically abundant monospecific assemblages ofHeliolites uksunayensis.Six of the 16 morphotaxonomic units recognized compare with species reported previously in Silurian faunas of Kazakhstan and Mongolia. Combinations of characters in the species attributed toPodollitessupport revision of the genus, possibly to includeDerivatolitesandTarbagatailites, in a group morphologically intermediate betweenStelliporellaandHeliolites.