Rudist assemblages of the Upper Cretaceous "pocket" infills in the Teplice rhyolite - systeamtics, palaeoecology, stratigraphy

The study (MS, diploma thesis) is based on more than 1500 rudist samples from the Upper Cretaceous sediments of localities Písečný vrch and Na Stínadlech (near Teplice). Investigated samples come mainly from the collection of A. H. Fassel and were collected at the end of the 19th century, currently stored in the Regional museum in Teplice and National museum in Prague. The rudist shells were determined by generic and species levels, including five genera and eight species. The stratigraphic age of both localities has been a subject of discussion since the second half of the 19th century. In the recent decades, the opinion on the lower turonian age prevailed. However, five of the eight species present in the studied localities demonstrate the upper cenomanian age of the assemblages, making them probably the oldest known rudist-corals assemblages of its kind. The palaeoecological analysis and the ecological relationships proposal for the studied localities is based on the research in literature on palaeoecology and evolution of the rudists, also presented in the study. Key words: Bohemian Cretaceous Basin, Cenomanian - Turonian, rudists, corals, palaeoenvironment, Teplice rhyolit