Taxonomic diversity of foraminifers of the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary interval in the South Urals

Abstract

The taxonomic diversity of foraminifers from the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary beds was studied in the key sections on the western slope of the South Urals in Russia and from Mugodzhary in Kazakhstan. These sections are mainly composed of marine carbonates, apparently deposited in a shallow-water environment. The boundary interval contains 111 species belonging to 30 genera within the foraminiferal zones Quasiendothyra communis, Q. kobeitusana, Tournayellina beata pseudobeata, Earlandia minima, and Chernyshinella disputabilis of the Russian General Stratigraphic Scale. Maximum diversification is recorded in the Q. kobeitusana Zone, and minimum species diversity is observed in the Earlandia minima Zone.