Early graptolite research: Eduard Suess and the Bilimek collection

 

Authors: Hopfensperger B, Maletz J, Lukeneder P, Heinz P, Ottner F

Published in: Bulletin of Geosciences, volume 96, issue 3; pages: 279 - 293; Received 11 March 2020; Accepted in revised form 7 May 2021; Online 23 May 2021

Keywords: Silurian, graptolites, Suess, Bilimek, Czech Republic,

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Abstract

Eduard Suess was one of the first scientists to describe graptolites from the Czech Republic. He erected one new genus and several new species. However, some of the material used for his descriptions has never been identified and the concept of the taxa was not verifiable. Some of the specimens are now recognized in the Bilimek collection (University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria) and others are present in the Barrande collection of the National Museum (Prague, Czech Republic). The genus Petalolithus Suess, 1851 has subsequently been modified considerably and all of the species discussed by Suess are now referred to the genus Parapetalolithus. New species (with modern genus assignment) include Stomatograptus grandis, Expansograptus ferrugineus, Oktavites falx and Streptograptus barrandei. Petalolithus parallelocostatus is regarded as a synonym of Parapetalolithus palmeus and Graptolithus armatus is a synonym of Torquigraptus proteus. The taxa Graptolithus laevis and Graptolithus taenius cannot be referred to valid graptolite genera or species.

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