LOWER CARBONIFEROUS MARINE VERTEBRATES ALONGSIDE LARGE-BODIED CRINOIDS IN CENTRAL KENTUCKY

We report a diverse lower Carboniferous vertebrate fauna from the Maldraugh Limestone near Elizabethtown, Kentucky. The locality preserves a carbonate reef ecosystem and contains multiple examples of marine vertebrates. Holocephalian chondrichthyans are represented by the genera Deltodus, Venustodus, Arpagodus, and Helodus. Elasmobranch fossils are also present and represent the genera Saivodus, Chomatodus, Orodus, Polyrhizodus and Lisgodus. The diversity of vertebrates with durophagous, crushing dentitions suggests that the flow of energy in this community relied on shelly invertebrates, which are represented most notably here by crinoids which could have grown up to 2m in height.