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Phosphatized remains indisputably belonging to conulariids have been found in the lower Famennian (Upper Devonian) deposits at the Kowala quarry in the Holy Cross Mountains, Poland for the first time. The ornamentation patterns and characteristics of the exoskeleton indicate that the conulariids, represented by at least two incomplete specimens, belong to a single species within the genus? Paraconularia. Some Polish Ordovician fossils previously described as conulariids either do not possess morphological characters seen in conulariids, or are too fragmentary to be confidently assigned to conulariids. Therefore, the fossils reported here not only represent the first documented record of conulariids in the Devonian of Poland, but the first true conulariids ever reported and illustrated from Poland. The exoskeleton of one specimen possesses at least three sublethal injuries. As the host deposit of marly shale originated in deep water, it is possible that the injuries did not result from purely physical factors, but rather from attempted predation. This interpretation is consistent with the fact that the lower Famennian deposits at Kowala preserve other predation-related structures such as fish coprolites, fragmented arthropod cuticle and regurgitated remains. |
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