THE FAMENNIAN RUGOSE CORAL ASSEMBLAGES IN NEAR-SHORE FACIES FROM SOUTH CHINA

Very few corals are known from the Famennian of the world including South China. A large number of shelly benthos living in the shallow platform of Late Devonian sea were killed by the F-F mass extinction event in the end of Frasnian. Reefs and the characteristic Devonian corals suddenly disappeared. There is only one coral genus Smithiphyllum found from the Hsikuangshan Formation (lower and middle Famennian substages) in Hunan Province,South China. The lower-middle-upper Famennian was the survival interval for the shallow water corals. After a long-term survival interval,corals began to make a recovery at the uppermost Famennian substage in South China. A new Strunian (latest Famennian) coral fauna has been recovered from the Shaodong Formation (lower) and Mengkung'ao Formation (upper) respectively. This fauna falls into two assemblages:Lower Eocaninophyllum Assemblage (including Eocaninophyllum,Ceriphyllum,Diphyphyllum,Complanophyllum,Zaphrentoides,Dematophyllum) and upper Cystophrentis Assemblage (yielding Cystophrentis,Beichuanophyllum,Neobeichuanophyllum,Siphonophylloides). They lived in a near-shore region with rough sea water and sufficient oxygen. Both assemblages located in BA3 of Boucot's Benthic Assemblage Scale. It lacked a radiation interval in Devonian Famennian Stage because another event (the D-C crisis) happened at the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary.Another offshore community which inhabited the slope region with quiet,stagnant and deeper sea water facies also existedin the latest Famenni-an from South China. The Yishanophyllum As-semblage located in BA5 of Boucot's Benthic As-semblage Scale.