Tunnelbaue rezenter und fossiler Phoronoidea

New investigations on tunnel burrows of the recent genus Phoronis Wright have proved clearly their identity with the ichnogenus Talpina v. Hagenow 1840, which was regarded previously to belong to boring sponges, annelids (»worms«) or bryozoa, must be referred to the phylum Phoronidea. Definite fossil records of that group hitherto were still missing. The supposition stressed by the present author (Voigt 1972) that the Talpina burrows might be produced by Phoronids was corroborated by comparisons of recent burrows of Phoronis within the shells with the Talpina burrows observed frequently in fossil shells or rostra of belemnites. Criteria used for the discrimination of such phoronid burrows from other similar burrowing organisms such as Thallophytes, sponges, bryozoa or »worms« are given. The difficulties existing in taxonomy and discerning different species due to the scarcity of morphological characters of these burrows are emphasized. The burrows in question are known since devonian times, partly under other generic names such as (?) Conchifora G. Müller 1968, Conchotrema Teichert 1945, Graysonia Stephenson 1952, Heteronema Ulrich & Bassler 1904 (replaced by Condranema Bassler 1952) and others, but all of them were not recognized as Phoronidea. Talpina gruberi Mayer 1952, T. eduliformis Quenstedt 1858 and T. ramosa v. Hagenow 1840 and the new ones T. hirsuta n. ichnospec. and T. annulata n. ichnospec. are discussed.