GeolCarp_Vol52_No4_205

GEOLOGICA CARPATHICA, 52, 4, BRATISLAVA, AUGUST 2001

205—215

UPPER DEVONIAN—LOWER CARBONIFEROUS FORAMINIFERAL

PALEOBIOGEOGRAPHY AND PERIGONDWANA TERRANES AT THE

BALTICA-GONDWANA INTERFACE

JIŘÍ KALVODA

Department of Geology and Paleontology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 61137 Brno, Czech Republic;

dino@sci.muni.cz

(Manuscript received December 7, 2000; accepted in revised form June 13, 2001)

Abstract: A new paleobiogeographic subdivision of the Perigondwana terranes is based on the study of Upper Devonian
and Lower Carboniferous calcareous foraminifers. The Brunovistulian, Moesian and Zonguldak terranes in Central and
SE Europe and Asia Minor (the Brunovistulian group of terranes) show close paleobiogeographic relationships to the
East European foraminiferal association. Consequently, they are regarded as a part of the Fennosarmatian Province
which represented a centre for the diversification for most groups of Upper Devonian and Lower Carboniferous calcar-
eous foraminifers. A lower degree of similarity with the East European Platform can be distinguished in the East Avalonian
foraminiferal fauna while that of the Armorican group of terranes displays distinct differences constituting the separate
Armorican Province. The results obtained support the idea that the Brunovistulian group of terranes formed the southern
margin of Laurussia which was colliding with the Armorican group of terranes during the Variscan orogeny. In this
respect, Brunovistulian group of terranes held a geotectonic position similar to that of East Avalonia even though the
accretionary history of the terranes was different.

Key words: Upper Devonian, Lower Carboniferous, Perigondwana terranes, paleobiogeography, calcareous foraminifers.

Introduction

The most important feature in the evolution of calcareous fora-
minifers is the fact that the highest rates of evolution can be
observed in complicated multilocular forms, while the small
number of morphological features recognized in fossil uniloc-
ular forms makes them inappropriate for such studies.

The first period of differentiation of multilocular, calcareous

foraminiferal  faunas  can  be  distinguished  in  the  late  Devo-
nian—early Carboniferous. In this period, the benthonic mode
of  life  in  shallow  shelf  environments  predestined  calcareous
foraminifers  to  become  a  useful  tool  for  paleobiogeographic
studies.  To  determine  the  relationships  of  Perigondwana  ter-
ranes,  it  would  evidently  be  useful  to  study  early  Paleozoic
foraminiferal  paleobiogeography  in  detail.  However,  less  di-
versified assemblages of primitive unilocular foraminifers and
the  poor  knowledge  of  their  distribution  makes  them  inade-
quate for such a study. Nevertheless, even in the Frasnian to
late Tournaisian there seem to be paleobiogeographic differ-
ences  between  terranes  which  can  have  some  impact  on  the
study of relations at the Gondwana-Laurussia interface.

After the break-up of Pannontia many microplates were de-

rived, especially from Gondwana (Erdtmann 2000). The lower
Paleozoic history of Baltica was characterized by the succes-
sive accretion of Perigondwana terranes. However, most of the
paleogeographical models that have been proposed, for exam-
ple, by McKerrow & Scotese (1990), Dalziel (1997), Torsvik
(1996) are too general or concentrated to a certain region. Re-
cent studies of lower Paleozoic paleogeography (e.g. Erdt-
mann 2000; Paris 2000; Robardet et al. 1994; Belka et al.
1997; Ebner et al. 1998; Stampfli 1996; Kozur & Göncüoglu
2000) seem to distinguish a complicated mosaic of terranes at

the Gondwana-Laurussia interface, not only within the Armor-
ican group of terranes, but also in Central Europe and on the
southeastern Laurussian margin. However, most studies are re-
gionally focused and only Erdtmann (2000) included most of
the known terranes in his paleogeographical reconstruction
and summarized the often conflicting state of knowledge.

It is beyond the scope of this paper to discuss the paleobio-

geographical relations of all Perigondwana terranes. Conse-
quently, as the distribution of calcareous foraminiferal fauna in
the upper Devonian and lower Carboniferous was restricted to
shallow shelf environments, only terranes with a microconti-
nental affinity and a rich foraminiferal record will be included.

Terranes of the Caledonian-Variscan orogeny

The most common features which have been applied to dis-

tinguish  Perigondwana-derived  terranes  are  the  Cadomian
consolidation of the basement, paleomagnetic data, the “Medi-
terranean” faunal affinity or sedimentological criteria (Ordovi-
cian  glacigenic  sediments).  However,  all  these  criteria  have
their  drawbacks  and  should  be  combined  (Erdtmann  2000).
Thus, a Cadomian consolidation usually regarded as a part of
the Panafrican consolidation (Ziegler 1986) has recently been
reported in the Urals and Taymir (Puchkov 1998; Glasmacher
et  al.  1998).  Zelazniewicz  (2000)  even  assumes  a  Cadomian
orogeny  at  the  southern  margin  of  the  Baltica.  Even  though
such  assumptions  must  still  be  verified,  one  has  to  be  more
careful in applying a single criterion for determining a Gond-
wana affinity.

There is a growing consensus on the importance of strike-

slip transfer and rotations of terranes which is reflected in the

206 KALVODA

most  recent  paleobiogeographic  models.  This  does  not  only
concern  Perigondwana  terranes.  For  example,  the  Baltica
seems  to  have  been  detached  from  the  West-African-South-
American part of Protogondwana, showing a prominent coun-
terclockwise rotation and significant latitudinal transfer during
the early Paleozoic (Erdtmann 2000).

As it was already stressed, in the following contribution, at-

tention will be directed only to discussion of the position of
particular terranes in connection with upper Devonian—lower
Carboniferous foraminiferal paleobiogeography.

In Western Europe, two major groups of terranes between

Baltica (Laurussia) and Gondwana have generally been distin-
guished:

1) The East Avalonian terrane group which was accreted to

the southern margin of Baltica during the Caledonian orogeny

and during the Variscan orogeny. It formed the southern prom-
ontory of Laurussia.

2) The Armorican terrane group was accreted to the south-

ern Laurussian margin during the Variscan orogeny. Its major
constituents include the Middle/North Armorican Terrane, the
Central Iberian Terrane, Barrandian and the Saxothuringian
Terrane. Other smaller terranes are also reported (Robardet et
al. 1994; Paris 2000). Some authors also include the Intra-Al-
pine Terrane in this group (Paris 2000).

In Central Europe, a similar situation can be distinguished

(see Fig. 3). The Caledonian accreted terranes include the Lyso-
gory, Malopolska and Brunovistulian terranes (Kalvoda 1995;
Belka et al. 1997). In the Armorican terrane group, the
Saxothuringian and Perunica terranes can be included along
with the Intra-Alpine terranes more to the south and southeast.

Fig. 1. Structural setting of the Brunovistulian, Malopolska and Lysogory terranes. Modified according to Bula et al. (1977). BVT –
Brunovistulian Terrane, MT – Malopolska Terrane, LT – Lysogory Terrane, HKFZ – Hamburg-Krakow Fault Zone, HCF – Holy
Cross Fault, TESZ – Trans-European Suture Zone, MSFZ – Moravo-Silesian Fault Zone, PPFZ – Peri-Pieninian Fault Zone, VDF –
Variscan Deformation Front, CDF – Caledonian Deformation Front, AF – Alpine Front.

UPPER DEVONIAN—LOWER CARBONIFEROUS FORAMINIFERAL PALEOBIOGEOGRAPHY 207

Fig. 2. Tectonic map of the Black Sea region showing the position of the Moesian and Zonguldak terranes. Modified after Okay et al. (1994).

These include the Peri-Mediterranean Terrane and the Noric-
Bosnian Terrane as major units (Neubauer & Handler 2000;
Kováč et al. 1993; Schönlaub & Histon 2000).

In the southeast, at the contact with the East European Plat-

form, the Moesian and Balkan terranes (Yanev 1997) and the
Zonguldak  Terrane  and  other  possible  terranes  in  Turkey
(Göncüoglu  1997)  can  be  distinguished.  As  the  Central  and
South-Eastern  European  terranes  are  not  so  well  known  and
have been distinguished only recently, a brief description will
be provided.

The Brunovistulian Terrane (BT – see Fig. 1) was includ-

ed into the Avalonian group of terranes by Kalvoda (1995).
This  terrane  has  a  Cadomian  basement  and  detrital  musco-
vites  in  the  lower  Cambrian  clastics  showing  the  same  age
(Belka et al. 2000). Jachowicz & Přichystal (1997) and Fatka
& Vavrdová (1998) have reported Lower Cambrian acritarch
assemblages  showing  a  pronounced  similarity  with  assem-
blages  known  from  the  East  European  Platform.  The  Cam-
brian  trilobite  fauna  shows  affinity  to  the  Baltic  Province
(Belka et al. 2000). On the other hand, the middle Devonian
trilobite  fauna  correlates  well  with  the  Barrandian  area
(Chlupáč 1969) contrary to the benthonic (coral and brachio-
pod) faunas which are essentially dissimilar to the Barrandian
ones (Galle et al. 1995). It seems that the Brunovistulian Ter-
rane was located close to the Baltica as early as in the Cam-
brian and may has joined the Malopolska Terrane in the early

Devonian (Belka et al. 2000). Important dextral translations
are reported by Grygar (1997).

The Malopolska Terrane (MT – see Fig. 1) is separated

from the Brunovistulian Terrane by a tectonic unit known as
the  Krakow-Lubliniec  Fault  Zone.  The  Krakow-Lubliniec
Fault  Zone  is  a  part  of  the  largely  concealed  Hamburg-Kra-
kow Fault Zone (see Fig. 1) which is parallel to the Trans-Eu-
ropean Suture Zone (TESZ) and continues southeast of Kra-
kow,  where  Carpathian  flysch  is  thrust  over  the  Paleozoic
basement (Bula & Jachowicz 1997). According to Belka et al.
(2000), the Malopolska Terrane possesses a Cadomian base-
ment;  lower  Cambrian  sediments  yield  detrital  muscovites
and zircons of both Cadomian and Baltica provenance. Upsec-
tion,  the  change  in  provenance  from  Cadomian  to  Baltic
sources appears. Belka et al. (2000) thus assumed that the Ma-
lopolska  Terrrane  was  the  first  Perigondwanan  microplate,
which  was  accreted  to  the  margin  of  Baltica.  Lewandowski
(1992) assumed a significant dextral translation of the terrane
in the Devonian.

The Lysogory Terrane (LT – see Fig. 1) is separated from

the Malopolska Terrane to the south by the Holy Cross Fault.
To the north it is delimited by the TESZ. The basement is un-
known. Middle and Upper Cambrian rocks comprise detrital
muscovites, both Baltic and Cadomian in affinity. It is as-
sumed that the unit had been situated very close to Baltica in
the late Cambrian, even though the Cambrian fauna shows

208 KALVODA

Gondwanan (Avalonia or Armorica) rather than Baltic affini-
ties (Belka et al. 2000).

In the Moesian Terrane (see Fig. 2), Yanev (1997) reported,

based  both  on  Ordovician  acritarchs  and  trilobites,  the  pres-
ence  of  a  cool  Mediterranean  Province.  He  assumed  attach-
ment to the Dobrogea periphery of the Eastern European Plat-
form in the middle to upper Devonian and continuing collision
in  the  Carboniferous  and  Variscan  collision  with  the  Balkan
Terrane along the Thracian Suture. Crowley et al. (2000) men-
tioned “Cadomian-aged” deformation of arc-related tholeiites
along the northern margins of Central Dobrogea which forms
the northern part of the Moesian Terrane. Ordovician glaciom-
arine sediments in the Balkan Terrane (Yanev 1997a) as well

as Bohemian-type lower Paleozoic fauna (Yanev 1997a) sug-
gest a relationship to the Armorican terranes.

In the Zonguldak Terrane (see Fig. 2) Kozur & Göncüoglu

(2000)  reported  Cadomian  oceanic  and  island  arc  sequences
and  assumed  the  lowermost  Devonian  accretion  to  the  East
European  Platform.  The  presence  of  Ordovician  trilobites  of
Welsh affinity may indicate a position close to East Avalonia.
On the basis of the presence of the entirely continental Trias-
sic, they also assume a slightly more northerly position of the
Zonguldak Terrane in comparison with the Moesian Terrane.
This more northerly original position is easily compatible with
the  Mesozoic  evolution  of  the  Black  Sea,  a  period  during
which the Zonguldak Terrane drifted southward (Görür et al.
1997). On the other hand, Sengör (1984) put the Istanbul series
into  the  Cimmerian  continent  and  Stampfli  (1996)  regarded
the Zonguldak Terrane (Pontides) as the eastern end of the In-
tra-Alpine Terrane. According to Göncüoglu (1997), both the
Moesian and Zonguldak terranes drifted away from Gondwana
during the Cambrian.

Upper Devonian—Lower Carboniferous

Paleobiogeography

Calcareous foraminifers represent a climatically sensitive

group and their distribution patterns provide useful informa-
tion for reconstructing the paleoclimate and paleogeography.
On this basis, we can distinguish three Devonian-lower Car-
boniferous paleogeographical realms: the tropical/subtropical
Paleotethyan, North American and the boreal Siberian realms
(Mamet & Belford 1968; Lipina 1973; Kalvoda 1990). The
North American realm, even though positioned in the tropical

Fig. 3. Sketch of the microcontinents in the Central European Variscides. Terranes of the Brunovistulian group coloured dark, dotted –
terranes of the Armorican group and light East Avalonia. The relation of enigmatic Lysogory Terrane is not quite clear. The arrows indi-
cate predominating sinistral translation of the East Avalonian Terrane and predominating dextral translation of the remaining Perigond-
wana terranes (see Table 1).

Table 1: Review of Perigondwana terranes at the Laurussia and
Gondwana interface in Central and South-Eastern Europe.

Terrane

Basement

Accretion to

Baltica

(Laurussia)

Final

translation

Foraminiferal

affinity

Eastern
Avalonia

Cadomian

Ord-Sil

Sinistral

Fennosarmatian
different
subprovince

Lysogory

unknown

Fennosarmatian
Province

Malopolska

Cadomian?

Upper
Cambrian

Dextral

Fennosarmatian
Province

Brunovistulian

Cadomian

Lower
Paleozoic

Dextral

Fennosarmatian
Province

Moesian

?Cadomian

?lower
Devonian

?dextral

Fennosarmatian
Province

Zonguldak

?Cadomian

Lower
Paleozoic

?dextral

Fennosarmatian
Province

Armorican
group

Cadomian

Dev-Carb

Dextral

Armorican
Province

UPPER DEVONIAN—LOWER CARBONIFEROUS FORAMINIFERAL PALEOBIOGEOGRAPHY 209

and subtropical belt, contained a less diversified, but far from
impoverished fauna, in some respects similar to the Siberian
one, probably reflecting the complicated migrational pattern of
foraminiferal taxa (Kalvoda 1990). The relations of the main
realms have been discussed by Kalvoda (1999).

In the original concept of Mamet (Mamet & Belford 1968;

Mamet 1977) the Paleotethyan Realm included both the Lau-
russian and Gondwana shelves. Vdovenko (1980) condition-
ally included the North African margin into the West Europe-
an Province, however, she stated that in the foraminiferal
faunas stenobiont forms with wide paleobiogeographical dis-
tributions predominate and that there are relatively little data.
It is evident that the older paleobiogeographic interpretation
should be revised to incorporate new paleotectonic concepts
distinguishing different terranes with Gondwanan and Baltic
affinities within the Paleotethyan Realm.

In the following, I will try to elucidate the affinity of the

foraminiferal faunas of some Perigondwana terranes. Atten-
tion will be concentrated on those time intervals when paleo-
biogeographical  differences  within  the  Paleotethyan  Realm
arising from terrane affinity are still apparent (the late Devo-
nian,  Tournaisian)  and  best  data  are  available.  Three  fora-
miniferal assemblages seem to fit best to this conditions: the
upper  Frasnian  Multiseptida-Eonodosaria-Eogeinitzina  as-

semblage, the upper Famennian Quasiendothyra assemblage
and the upper Tournaisian Kizel-Kosvin assemblage.

Multiseptida-Eonodosaria-Eogeinitzina assemblage (see

Fig. 4)

We begin our review of the foraminiferal dispersal in the

late Frasnian when the great uniformity of foraminiferal fauna
paralleled the worldwide distribution of reef ecosystems (Kal-
voda 1986) and the first diversification event can be seen. The
Paleotethyan Realm was characterized by the presence of ad-
vanced  multi-chambered  genera  such  as  Eogeinitzina,
Frondilina,  Eonodosaria,  Multiseptida,  Nanicella  and  the
primitive Tournayellidae. However, this complete assemblage
is present only on the East European Platform and in the Urals.
Less diversified assemblages can also be found outside the Pa-
leotethyan  Realm,  both  in  the  North  American  realm  and  in
the Omolon-Kolyma and Tian Shan regions (Kalvoda 1990a)
as well as in the Armorican Province.

In the Armorican Province of the Paleotethyan Realm, the

upper Frasnian foraminiferal assemblage has only been de-
scribed in the South Armorican Terrane (Vachard 1994). The
southern Armorican assemblages seem to be far less diversi-
fied than the East European ones. The absence of important

Fig. 4. Simplified paleogeographical map and foraminiferal paleobiogeography during the late Frasnian. L – Lysogory Terrane, M –
Malopolska Terrane, B – Brunovistulian Terrane, M – Moesian Terrane, Z – Zonguldak Terrane, Kaz – Kazakhstan continent, SEU
– Southern Europe, IBR – Iberia, ARM – Armorica, PER – Perunica, EAV – Eastern Avalonia, WAV – Western Avalonia, MEG
– Meguma. Dark lines – boundaries of the faunal assemblages. The shading shows the relation of Perigondwana terranes to the Fen-
nosarmatian Province. Based on the data presented in the text and in the paper by Kalvoda (1990a). North American occurrences of Mul-
tiseptida not included.

210 KALVODA

genera, Multiseptida and Frondilina as well as primitive
Tournayellidae, is significant.

On the other hand, in the Brunovistulian Terrane, the upper

Frasnian foraminiferal assemblage contains all the multilocu-
lar genera found in the East European Platform and the Urals
(Kalvoda 1990a). This favours the close contact and commu-
nication of this terrane with the East European Platform.

A similar situation is observed in the Moesian Terrane

where upper Frasnian assemblages, very similar to those of
the Eastern European Platform, are reported by Yovcheva
(1980).

In the Zonguldak Terrane, Dil (1976) reported only Eono-

dosaria from the upper Frasnian assemblage, but only one
outcrop was studied and so the data available may not be rep-
resentative.

In the Avalonian Terrane, diversified assemblages of the

Upper Frasnian have not been described.

Quasiendothyra assemblage (see Fig. 5)

For the Quasiendothyra assemblage, the successive occur-

rence  of  Quasiendothyra  bella  (Chernysheva),  Quasiendot-
hyra  communis  (Rauser)  Quasiendothyra  regularis  Lipina,
and  the  diversification  of  Quasiendothyra  ex  gr.  communis
(Rauser),  Quasiendothyra  kobeitusana  (Rauser)  and
Quasiendothyra konensis (Lebedeva) are characteristic. The
first diversification of Quasiendothyra and Tournayellidae at
the base of the upper Famennian (the P. marginifera conodont
zone) has been found only in the Paleotethyan Realm. In oth-
er  realms  the  data  are  not  sufficient.  The  higher  upper  Fa-
mennian  (the  P.  expansa  conodont  zone)  is  marked  by  the
worldwide dispersal of the Quasiendothyra fauna. This fauna

has  also  been  recorded  outside  the  Paleotethyan  Realm,  in
the Omolon-Kolyma region, in Alaska as well as in Australia
(Kalvoda  1990a).  This  migration  of  Paleotethyan  fauna  in
both  the  Southern  and  Northern  Hemispheres  suggests  cli-
matic warming in this interval (Kalvoda 1986).

In the Armorican Province, Vachard (1988) reported a poor

Quasiendothyra fauna (communication of R. Conil) from the
D-C boundary at La Serre in Montagne Noire while Krylatov
& Mamet (1969) report a richer assemblage in Corsica. The
Quasiendothyra fauna seems to be absent in Spain as well as
in the Pyrenees and in Asturias even though favorauble fa-
cies for such fauna are present (Conil 1977). A more diversi-
fied Quasiendothyra fauna has been described in the eastern
part of the Saxothuringian Terrane by Zukalová (1976).

On the other hand, Conil & Lys (1970) reported rich upper-

most Famennian Quasiendothyra assemblages in the Avalo-
nian Terrane. In the Zonguldak Basin, a Quasiendothyra fau-
na  very  similar  to  the  eastern  European  association  was
described by Dil (1976). Quasiendothyra assemblages of the
lower and upper part of the upper Famennian, very similar to
the  Fennosarmatian  occur  in  the  Brunovistulian  Terrane
(Kalvoda  1990a).  The  absence  of  Quasiendothyra  fauna  in
the Moesian Terrane is probably due to poor exposure and in
general missing data on upper Famennian foraminifers.

Upper Kizel-Kosvin Assemblage (see Fig. 6)

In the Tethyan Realm, the upper Tournaisian is character-

ized by the diversification and widespread occurrence of the
Upper  Kizel  fauna  (Spinoendothyra,  Inflatoendothyra,  Eo-
forschia,  Dainella,  Paraendothyra) which is typical for the
Kizel  Cycle  of  Lipina  (1963).  It  is  followed  by  the  succes-

Fig. 5. Simplified paleogeographical map and foraminiferal paleobiogeography during the late Famennian. See explanations in Fig. 4.

UPPER DEVONIAN—LOWER CARBONIFEROUS FORAMINIFERAL PALEOBIOGEOGRAPHY 211

sive  occurrence  of  Dainella,  Eotextularia,  Tetrataxis,  Ur-
banella, Endospiroplectammina, Globoendothyra, Plectogy-
ranopsis, Pseudolituotubella, Eoparastaffellina, Eoendothy-
ranopsis,  Eoparastaffella,  Omphalotis  (Kalvoda  1990a;
Hance et al. 1997) best known from the Kosvin Horizon. The
centre  of  diversification  was  again  the  East  European  Plat-
form and the Ural Mts. The acme of the migration and prolif-
eration of Paleotethyan calcareous foraminifers seems to co-
incide with the period of the G. typicus-lower S. anchoralis
Zone  (Kalvoda  1990).  Because  the  association  of  several
genera is characteristic of the assemblage, a taxon name was
not  applied.  The  assemblage  corresponds  broadly  to  the

Spinoendothyra, Endothyra elegia-Eotextularia diversa and
Eoparastaffella-Eoendothyranopsis zones in Eastern Europe
(see Table 2).

In the Zonguldak Terrane, upper Tournaisian assemblages

showing close relation to the East European Platform have
been described by Dil (1976).

In the Brunovistulian Terrane, upper Tournaisian foramin-

iferal assemblages were reported by Kalvoda (1983, 1990a).
On the basis of a joint study of conodonts, he has shown the
upper Tournaisian age of the fauna regarded, by Conil (1977)
as Visean and he supposes a close relationship to the fora-
miniferal faunas of the East European Platform.

Fig. 6. Simplified paleogeographical map and foraminiferal paleobiogeography during the latest Tournaisian. See explanations in Fig. 4.

Fig. 7. Some important taxa of the described foraminiferal assemblages. 1 – Multiseptida corallina Bykova – Multiseptida-Eonodosar-
ia-Eogeinitzina assemlage; 2 – Quasiendothyra kobeitusana (Rauser) – Quasiendothyra assemblage; 3 – Paraendothyra nalivkini
Tchernysheva – Upper Kizel-Kosvin assemblage; 4 – Eoparastaffella simplex Vdovenko – Upper Kizel-Kosvin assemblage. All
specimens are from the southern part of the Moravian Karst (Czech Republic).

UPPER DEVONIAN—LOWER CARBONIFEROUS FORAMINIFERAL PALEOBIOGEOGRAPHY 213

In the Moesian Terrane, upper Tournaisian foraminifers

have only been described in the Gomotarci borehole. They
correlate well with the Donbas. Therefore the Moesian Plat-
form is included in the Donets-Dobrogea Province (Vdoven-
ko et al. 1981).

The East Avalonian Terrane seems to contain some differ-

ences between the impoverished upper Tournaisian foramin-
iferal fauna of the Dinant Basin and the British SE Province
on one side and the more diversified fauna of the Namur Ba-
sin and especially the British Central Province on the other
(Conil et al. 1979; Kalvoda 1983a). The former regions show
only a weak foraminiferal record in the upper Tournaisian
due to the significant presence of Waulsortian reef facies. In
this respect, we can see some similarities with the southern
Laurentian margin where the Waulsortian Facies is also
widespread (Lane 1982).

A part of the upper Tournaisian foraminiferal fauna of the

Namurian Basin and the British Central Province was original-
ly regarded as “Visean” (Conil & Lys 1964; Conil et al. 1979).
Kalvoda (1983, 1983a) pointed out that the “Visean” assem-
blages of the latter regions as well as of the Campine-Brabant
Basin are partly Tournaisian in age and show a close relation-
ship to the Eastern European faunal associations.

Conclusions

The distribution of foraminiferal faunas in the late Devo-

nian  and  early  Carboniferous  of  the  Paleotethyan  Realm
shows important differences between the Armorican terrane
group  and  the  southern  Perigondwana  terranes  (in  part  the
West  European  Province  of  Vdovenko  1980)  on  one  side,
and  the  East  European  Platform  shelves  on  the  other.
Vdovenko’s (1980) term “West European Province” is mis-
leading  for  the  inclusion  of  the  Avalonian  Terrane  with  its
more diversified fauna. In a similar way, the terms Perigond-
wana  or  Mediterranean  Province  could  be  misleading  be-
cause not all Perigondwana terranes could be included within
such a province. Consequently, we prefer to employ the term
Armorican  Province  to  include  the  Perigondwana  terranes
characterized  by  incomplete  foraminiferal  phylogeny  and
foraminiferal assemblages lower in diversity than the assem-
blages of the East European Platform and the Urals. This re-
gion,  which  represented  a  diversification  centre  of  many
groups of late Devonian and early Carboniferous calcareous
foraminifers, is defined here as the Fennosarmatian Province.

The Brunovistulian group of Perigondwana terranes in-

cludes the Brunovistulian, Malopolska, Moesian and Zongul-

Table  2:  The  correlation  chart  of  the  most  important  late  Devonian  and  early  Carboniferous  foraminiferal  zonations  which  represents
one of the bases for paleobiogeographical reconstructions. In the chart we can see the correlation of the discussed upper Frasnian, upper
Famennian and upper Tournaisian-lower Visean foraminiferal assemblages. The Paleotethyan Realm includes Namur and Dinant Syncli-
norium,  Eastern  Europe,  Moravia  and  Tian  Shan.  Siberian  Realm  includes  Western  Siberia,  Omolon  and  Kolyma  Massif  and  Kuznets
Basin.  Modified after Kalvoda (1990a).

Fig. 8. Simplified paleogeographical map and groups of Perigondwana terranes based on foraminiferal paleobiogeography. See explana-
tions in Fig. 4.

▲

214 KALVODA

dak terranes, which show a close similarity to the East Euro-
pean faunal associations and can be regarded as a part of the
Fennosarmatian Province (see Fig. 8). These terranes under-
went a paleogeographical evolution different from the rest of
the  Perigondwana  terranes  –  during  the  Variscan  orogeny
they  were  situated  on  the  southern  margins  of  Laurussia
(Yanev 1997; Göncüoglu 1997; Kalvoda 1995; Belka et al.
1997)  in  a  geotectonic  position  similar  to  that  of  the  East
Avalonian Terrane. Thus the presented data support the idea
of continuation of the TESZ SE-wards through the Black Sea
to Asia Minor (Pharaoh et al. 1997). They are not in accor-
dance with the position of the Brunovistulian, Moesian and
Zonguldak terranes in the southern foreland of the Variscan
belt (Matte et al. 1990; Stampfli 1996) and correlation with
the Aquitaine and Montagne Noire Terrane.

The foraminiferal fauna of East Avalonia also shows a

similarity with the East European associations, but some dif-
ferences seem to exist. These are seen in the absence of the
upper Frasnian diversified Multiseptida-Eonodosaria-Eogei-
nitzina assemblage and the presence of Waulsortian reef fa-
cies linking East Avalonia with the southern margin of Lau-
rentia. This may reflect the fact that in contrast to the dextral
translation of the Brunovistulian group and the majority of
Perigondwana terranes, the final accretion of East Avalonia
was sinistral.

Acknowledgments: The author is indebted for a thorough
reviewing and useful suggestions to H.G. Herbig, F. Neubau-
er and J. Soták. The study was supported by the research
projects GA205/99/1640 and CEZ-J07/98-143100003.

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