Bashkirian Rugosa (Anthozoa) from the Donets Basin (Ukraine). Part 8. The Family Kumpanophyllidae Fomichev, 1953

The Family Kumpanophyllidae Fomichev, 1953, synonymised by Hill (1981) with the Family Aulophyllidae Dybowski, 1873, is emended and accepted as valid. The new concept of this family, based on both new collections and discussion on literature data, confirms the solitary growth form of its type genus Kumpanophyllum Fomichev, 1953. However, several fasciculate colonial taxa, so far assigned to various families, may belong to this family as well. The emended genus Kumpanophyllum forms a widely distributed taxon, present in Eastern and Western Europe and in Asia. Its Serpukhovian and Bashkirian occurrences in China vs Bashkirian occurrences in the Donets Basin and in Spain, may suggest its far-Asiatic origin, but none of the existing taxa can be suggested as ancestral for that genus. Thus, the suborder position of the Kumpanophyllidae remains unknown. Four new species: K. columellatum, K. decessum, K. levis, and K. praecox, three Kumpanophyllum species left in open nomenclature and one offsetting specimen, questionably assigned to the genus, are described.