New records of ammonoids (Cephalopoda) in the Serpukhovian and Bashkirian (Carboniferous) strata of the Donets Basin, Ukraine

[Дернов, В. Нові знахідки амоноідей (Cephalopoda) у серпуховських та башкирських (кам’яновугільна система) відкладах Донецького басейну (Україна)]

Vitaly Dernov, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5873-394X

Institute of Geological Sciences of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (Kyiv, Ukraine)

National Museum of Natural History of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (Kyiv, Ukraine)

Cite as

Dernov, V. (2026). New records of ammonoids (Cephalopoda) in the Serpukhovian and Bashkirian (Carboniferous) strata of the Donets Basin, Ukraine. GEO&BIO, 28, 27-38.

doi: https://doi.org/10.53452/gb2804

pdf: G&B №28-2026_27-38_Dernov.pdf

Abstract

The Carboniferous-aged Kalmius and Krynka River sections, located in the southwestern Donets Basin (eastern Ukraine), are of a great significance for the biostratigraphy and correlation of the Mississippian–Pennsylvanian boundary interval within the palaeoequatorial belt of Euramerica. These sections are also important for study of the course and consequences of the global “minor” mass extinction event at the Mississippian–Pennsylvanian boundary, probably caused by the onset of the Gondwana continental glaciation in the Southern Hemisphere. A low-diversity ammonoid assemblage is described from the late Serpukhovian–early Bashkirian (Starobeshovian and Olmezovian regional stages, Kalmius and Amvrosiyivka formations) of the sections in the Kalmius and Krynka River basins. Anthracoceras sp. and Richardsonites baccans Popov, 1979 are described from the Kalmius Formation, and Homoceratoides stenus Popov, 1979, Cancelloceras tenerum Popov, 1979 and Bilinguites sp. are described from the Amvrosiyivka Formation. Richardsonites baccans, Homoceratoides stenus, and Cancelloceras tenerum are endemic species of the Donets Basin, the original description of which is based on insufficiently preserved limited material (juvenile conchs in which the suture lines are not preserved). The morphological studies of ammonoids helps to clarify the details of the conch morphology of these species and therefore refine the original diagnosis of these taxa. The discovery of Anthracoceras sp. in a shale above the D57 limestone of the Kalmius Formation expands the range of this genus in the Carboniferous succession of the Donets Basin. In the Carboniferous sections of the Donets Basin, the upper Serpukhovian–lower Bashkirian interval is best characterised by ammonoids. Currently, 17 genera are recognised from the Kalmius and Amvrosiyivka formations. These data enabled previous researchers to assign the interval of the Kalmius Formation above the D58Upper limestone to the Homoceras–Hudsonoceras genus zone, and the interval E1–E9 of the Amvrosiyivka Formation to the Reticuloceras–Bashkortoceras genus zone. A considerable proportion of endemic species within the late Serpukhovian–early Bashkirian ammonoid assemblage may indicate a certain degree of geographic isolation of the palaeo-aquatory of the Donets Basin.

Key words

ammonoids, Serpukhovian, Bashkirian, Donets Basin, morphology

Correspondence to: Vitaly Dernov; Institute of Geological Sciences of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 55-b Olesia Honchara Street, Kyiv 01054, Ukraine; e-mail: vitalydernov@gmail.com

Article info

Submitted: 09.09.2025. Revised: 28.11.2025. Accepted: 27.02.2026

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