Redescription of Paraconularia planicostata (Cnidaria, Medusozoa) from Mississippian (late Visean) carbonates in the Maritimes Basin, Atlantic Canada

Abstract

Reflecting the long-term decline in the generic diversity of order Conulariida Miller and Gurley, 1896 following its peak during Mid–Late Ordovician times (Leme et al., 2008, fig. 1; Bernad et al., 2026, figs. 1, 2), the global fossil record of conulariid cnidarians in the Mississippian System is dominated by the genus Paraconularia Sinclair, 1940 (Fig. 1; Table 1). Thus, most Mississippian conulariid faunas consist of one or two species in Paraconularia plus, in some cases, Conularia Miller in Sowerby, 1821 or, possibly, Holoconularia Hergarten, 1985. The cosmopolitan distribution of these conulariids was facilitated by the Devonian–Carboniferous, Austropanthalassic-Rheic migration corridor (e.g., Torres-Martínez and Sour-Tovar, 2023), the westernmost portion of which directly connected Gondwana to Laurentia (Fig. 1).