Coleolus Hall, 1879

Malinky, John M. & Skovsted, Christian B., 2004, Hyoliths and small shelly fossils from the Lower Cambrian of North-East Greenland, Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 49 (4), pp. 551-578 : 570

Genus Coleolus Hall, 1879

Type species: Coleolus tenuicinctum Hall, 1879 , Lower Devonian , New York .

Diagnosis.—Conch elongate and tubular with small apical angle; surface covered with rings that are oblique to the longitudinal axis of the shell; cross−section circular or nearly so.

Remarks.—This genus was founded upon tubular calcareous fossils of the kind so characteristic of the Lower Cambrian of the Siberian Platform and South China. It was illustrated under the name Coleoprion tenuicinctum by Hall (1876) but not described, thus that taxon is a nomen nudum. Later, Hall (1879) described it as Coleolus tenuicinctum . This genus is distinguished from similar calcareous tubes by its transverse lines that are oblique to the longitudinal axis of the tube. In contrast, Coleoloides Walcott, 1890 has longitudinal ornament on the conch, and Coleoprion Sandberger, 1847 possesses transverse elements of sculpture but they converge in a longitudinal groove on the shell. Specimens from North−East Greenland possess lines that best fit the description of Coleolus , and are assigned to that genus. The affinity of Coleolus is unknown, although Fisher (1962) suggested that it may be molluscan. The specimens from Greenland shed no light on the affinity of this taxon, and indeed cannot even be identified to species with certainty due to their fragmentary nature.

Stratigraphic range and distribution.—Lower Cambrian– Devonian; USA (New York), Siberia, and North−East Greenland.