锐星珊瑚(Argutastrea)是泥盆纪地层中常见的一种块状群体珊瑚,它在生物地层对比、生物地理区系划分以及古生态与古地理重建等方面都具有重要的意义。通过近年来对华南独山和奥地利格拉茨两地采集的Argutastrea群体珊瑚标本进行比较深入的对比研究,确认两地存在着一些十分相似的属种,推断彼此之间当时可能海域相通,并同属于一个老世界生物地理大区(Old World Realm)。此外,还讨论了该属与其相关的六方珊瑚(Hexagonaria)、多角珊瑚(Prismatophyllum)等属之间的异同。
The genus Argutastrea was established by Crickmay in 1960 with its type species Argutastrea arguta Crickmay, 1960. Representatives of Argutastrea are known from Europe, Asia, West Australia, North Africa and western North America. Formerly, many Devonian cerioid corals were attributed to Hexagonaria Gurich, 1896. Restudies of the neotype of the type species Hexagonaria hexagona from Bensberg, Germany (probably upper Givetian or lower Frasnian) resulted in the new view that the bulk of the so-called " Hexagonaria" in reality belong to A rgutast tea. Hexagonaria Giarich,1896 is mainly distinguished from Argutastea Crickmay, 1960 by its spindle-shaped dilatation of septa with typically carinae. The genus Prisrnatophyllurn Simpson, 1900 differs from genus Argutastrea Crickmay, 1960 in its thinner septa with yardom carinae. We are greatly indebted to the exchange-program between the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Austrian Academy of Sciences that supported a comparisonal study of cerioid rugosa of Hochlantsch area, north of Graz, Austria and Dushan County, Guizhou Province, South China in 2000 and in 2002 respectively. Cerioid corals of Hochlantsch area were already mentioned by Frech (1888) who determined them as Cyathophyllurn quadrigernrninurn. Our recent collecting activities within the Zachenspitz Formation (middle to upper varcus zone) yielded individuals which are better preserved than the previous material known from there (Flugel and Schimunek, 1960). However taxonomic studies confirmed Fltigel and Schimunek's determination as Argutastrea darwini (Frech).In 2002 we studied and northern suburbs of Province, South China the Devonian section at eastern Dushan County town, Guizhou and collected some species of Argutastrea (Middle Devonian, Givetian). Two decades ago, Liao Weihua and R. Birenheide (1985) published some species of Argutastrea from Givetian of Dushan, Guizhou Province, South China. They are Argutastrea dushanensis Liao and Birenheide, 1985, A. ? colurnna