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1 Department of Geology, University College, Galway, Ireland
2 Department of Geological Sciences, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK
Recurrent deep-water benthic communities, dominated by diverse tabulate corals, colonized soft substrates during the late Llandovery transgression in western Ireland. A number of autochthonous shelly assemblages dominated by brachiopods, corals and crinoids occur in the upper parts of the Kilbride Formation; the highest and most distal levels are dominated by in situ tabulate corals that are mantled by a thin layer of volcanic ash. Most of the coral colonies could cope with limited sedimentation: growth ceased after the volcaniclastic surge. This catastrophic mode of preservation permits an accurate analysis of an early stage of community development in deep-water benthos on a soft Llandovery seabed, periodically swept by volcaniclastic debris. The Kilbride faunas have implications for the palaeoenvironments and taphonomy of deep-water marine faunas associated with areas of active volcanism.
Keywords: Silurian, corals, mass mortalities, Ireland.
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