Article: Dorlodotia and related genera (Rugosa) from the Visean (Mississippian; Carboniferous) of Zonguldak and Bartin (North-Western Turkey)

A rich and diverse coral fauna collected from the Livian (Viséan, Mississippian) of Zonguldak and Bartin (North-western Turkey) contains numerous specimens of Dorlodotia and related forms. The most common species, D. delepineiCharles, 1933, is redetermined as Dorlodotia briarti, an European species. A new species of Dorlodotia is described for very large, phaceloid forms: D. euxinensis. The genus Ceriodotia is created for species close to Dorlodotia with a cerioid habit. It comprises two species: C. bartinensis and C. petalaxoides, both common in the Viséan of Zonguldak and Bartin. Based on comparison of morphological characters and features of the astogeny, a phylogenetic lineage is proposed for Dorlodotia and the new taxa. The evolution of D. euxinensis from D. briarti is peramorphic. Subsequent paedomorphosis resulted in the lineage D. euxinensis–C. bartinensis–C. petalaxoides. Ceriodotia probably includes Viséan taxa from Asia previously described as Acrocyathus'.