Coral (4) from the Campanian St. Bartholomä formation, Styria, Austria (Gosau group, Eastern Alps)

[FranzBernhard]

...and the fourth (and hopefully last for some time) coral question from the Campanian of St. Bartholomä, Styria, Austria.

In this thread I present two different specimens, which I think belong to the same genus: Cycloria or Orbignygyra (according to the papers of Baron-Szabo, 2003, 2014). They are maeandroid, colonial corals.

In this first post, two polished slabs of the same specimen are presented. They are about 2 mm apart. The corallites are not very well preserved, but in some spots, some detail is discernible. The "better", less recrystallized side is intergrown with the usual fossiliferous limestone (which contains another small coral colony...).

[FranzBernhard]

In this second post, a coral specimen with its natural surface is shown. First photo is the whole specimen, its about 10 cm wide. The second photo is a detail of the same specimen.

Hopefully, someone is profing my diagnosis (Cycloria/Orbignygyra) wrong .

Thank you very much for looking and for your help!
Franz Bernhard

[Innocentx]

Can't help with ID but I'm certainly enjoying your photography and specimens.

[FranzBernhard]

1 hour ago, Innocentx said:

Can't help with ID but I'm certainly enjoying your photography and specimens.

Thanks for your appreciation!
Franz Bernhard

[Plax]

we only have a few solitaries and encrusters in our Campanian around here in North Carolina. Nice to see something substantial.

[FranzBernhard]

9 hours ago, Plax said:

we only have a few solitaries and encrusters in our Campanian around here in North Carolina. Nice to see something substantial.

They are also not abundant in the Campanian St. Bartholomä formation here in Styria, Austria. For 100 rudists, you may find about 3 coral colonies in the respective layer (a coarse conglomerate/breccia made exclusively of clasts of fossiliferous limestone; some of the clasts are rudists and, yes, very few of them are coral colonies).

Franz Bernhard

[HansTheLoser]

Polished specimens: Orbignygyra has much shorter calicular rows. I tend to Cycloria, but I would be careful with the species. I cannot see enough. The dimensions are large and tend to C. voracissima. But I am not even sure that this species belongs to Cycloria, or another new yet undescribed genus, because it has very large dimensions and a narrow coenosteum ("ambulacrum", area between the calicular rows) that is absent in Cycloria. A better section and a better image of your specimen could help.

[FranzBernhard]

Thanks, Hans, for your help! So, Orgignygyra and Cycloria are not synonyms, but different genera. Colony is poorly preserved, unfortunately. A better image is also not possilble at the moment. Maybe I could label it cf. Cycloria at the moment.

Thanks again, thats all for now.

Eagerly waiting for the new Gosau-coral-book...
Franz Bernhard