Carboniferous Conodont Faunas of Europe

The standard Lower Carboniferous succession for Europe is based on conodont faunas from West Germany described by Voges and Bischoff. Further studies in Germany, France, Belgium, Spain, Italy, North Africa, Britain and Ireland, have established conodont sequences which, while broadly similar to those of Germany, display important differences. Continuing research on the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary, the interpretation of the German succession, the comparison of conodont zonation with zones based on other organisms, interbasinal and intercontinental correlation, and geographic and facies variation are reviewed. Data from current investigations of the faunas of the Upper Tournaisian and Viséan are presented. Zonation based on stratigraphic assemblages of conodonts has been established on the basis of ranges of discrete species. Preliminary attempts to establish general phylogenetic relationships and "whole animal" associations are reviewed, and their stratigraphic importance assessed. The conodont sequence of the Upper Carboniferous is relatively poorly known, and information is largely confined to the Namurian. Faunas from Britain, Ireland, France, and Belgium have been described, and other faunas are at present being studied. Knowledge of Stephanian and Westphalian faunas is very limited, but small faunas are known from thin marine bands in a dominantly nonmarine succession. No general zonal scheme has yet been established.