Early Bashkirian Rugosa (Anthozoa) from the Donets Basin, Ukraine. Part 1, Introductory considerations and the genus Rotiphyllum Hudson, 1942

The present paper is the first in a series devoted to the Early Bashkirian Rugosa (Anthozoa) from the Donets Basin. The history of investigation and current status of Early Bashkirian stratigraphy is discussed in the context of the Donets Basin strata. Corals of that time interval are extremely rare worldwide and those from the Donets Basin have never been described in detail. Four of the five species described are new: Rotiphyllum asymmetricum sp. nov., R. latithecatum sp. nov., R. simulatum sp. nov., and R. voznesenkae sp. nov. Two species are left in open nomenclature. The synonymy, species content and critical review of species potentially belonging to the genus Rotiphyllum are reviewed.