First report of Devonian corals from the Bitlis-Pörtürge Massif (SE Turkey): a rare occurrence of corals on the northern margin of Gondwana

The Bitlis-Pörtürge Massif of SE Turkey is a metamorphic belt separating the Arabian Plate from the Taurides. It includes non-metamorphic Palaeozoic sequence, locally fossiliferous. Here is reported the first Upper Devonian rugose and tabulate coral from the Meydan Formation, composed of Frechastraea schafferi, Peneckiella cf. teicherti, Pseudopexiphyllum supradevonicum, Macgeea desioi, Thamnopora reticulata, Alveolites ex. gr. suborbicularis and Scoliopora sp. The rugose corals suggest a (late) Frasnian age. The palaeobiogeographic affinity of the corals is discussed and the utility of the species F. schafferi and the genus Pseudopexiphyllum – so far only described in the northern margin of Gondwana – is evaluated.