Extinctions and migrations of Devonian rugose corals in the Eastern Americas Realm

Detailed plotting of the stratigraphic ranges of Devonian rugose coral genera within the Eastern Americas Realm reveals new information about the extinctions and migrations of this largely endemic fauna. There were significant faunal turnovers in the Lochkovian, middle Eifelian and late Givetian, as well as in the often discussed late Frasnian. The late Givetian turnover was nearly as great as the Frasnian one. Inward migration was principally from western North America, and the greatest influxes were during the early Givetian and Frasnian. It seems likely that there were several separate incursions and that some genera were introduced to the east two, or even three times. -Author