Palaeoecological reconstruction of the Late Devonian Lebedjan biota

Abstract

<p>Palaeozoic fossil-bearing deposits in Russia record important and rare insights into pre-Mesozoic palaeoecological systems. Among the known formations, the Late Devonian (Famennian) deposits exposed in the central part of Russian platform have been under-documented. To expand the record of these formations, some of which show evidence of soft-bodied preservation, we revisit the Famennian-aged Lebedjan Formation from the Lipetsk region, central European Russia. We examine and record three outcrops lithologically and stratigraphically. In re-considering the Lebedjan Formation, we illustrate novel evidence for macrophytic algae, crustaceans, fishes, stromatolites, and xiphosurans preserved within the deposit. In doing so, we present a more complete reconstruction of this Late Devonian palaeoecosystem and demonstrate that sections of the Lebedjan Formation record low energy, lagoonal palaeoenvironments that had limited influence from the open ocean.</p>