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Jean-Pierre Cuif
Research on Triassic coral fauna : inadequacy
ofpresent taxonomic framework to describe evolution ofearly Scleractinia
Initial studies dealing with Triassic corals (1965-78) have shown that
presently admitted major subdivisions in Scleractinia (cf. the well-known
Wells' picture) cannot longer be applied to early coral faunas. Application
ofmajor criteria used by Wells himself (the septal microstructures (Treatise,
1956 F340, fig. 237) leads to a completely different picture of the radiative
process that has occurred at the basis of the Mesozoic period.
Obviously, before creating a new taxonomic framework at the Family level,
we have to improve our understanding of coral skeletons, in order to assess
more efficiently the taxonomic value of major skeletal patterns.
A new-scaled description of skeletal structures
inScleractinia
As a development of the basic concept used by Wells himself, a global
analysisof the microstructural patterns has been started.
The method consists in a re-examination of the widely-used microstructural
concepts ("trabecular structure" for instance) by introducing a new approach
based on recent progress in biomineralization studies. Basically, thearagonitic
fibre that has been described as the skeletal unit since the firstmiccroscopic
observations of coral skeleton (pioneered by Pratz 1882) cannotlonger be
considered as a purely crystalline structure. The coral fibre is atypical
polycyclic organo-mineral composite, of which structural patterns canbe revealed
at the micronic scale par specific preparative processes.
Investigation on biochemical compositions of
skeleton-associated organic compounds
First results obtained in biochemical characterization ofmineral-associated
organic compounds extracted from extant coralskeletons demonstate an important
diversity in both soluble andinsoluble produts.
Therefore, in addition to research dealing with new-scaledmicrostructural
patterns, exploration of this biochemical diversityis on the way, mostly
based on chromatographic andelectrophoretic studies.
