ON THE PALEOBOTANICAL CHARACTERISTIC OF THE MOSPINO FORMATION (MIDDLE CARBONIFEROUS, DONETS BASIN)

Formulation of the problem. Deposits of the Mospino Formation (Upper Bashkirian) are poorly characterized by plants remains. Any new data supplementing the paleobotanical characterization of the Carboniferous deposits of the Donets Basin are, undoubtedly, of interest. The aims of the article are to find out the systematic composition of plant remains from two localities and to determine the conditions of growth and burial of plants. The history of the study of Carboniferous flora of the Donets Basin dates back almost two centuries. During this long period, a rich fossil macroflora was investigated from the Carboniferous sediments. Material and research methods. This article is based on the results of a study of fossil flora from two sites - Makedonovka and Volnuhino (Lutuginsky district of the Luhansk region). Statement of the main material. Of the sediments with the coal layer g(1)(2) (Makedonovka), 32 taxa were identified: 20 species and 12 forms defined in the open nomenclature. The composition of the plant complex is as follows: Bothrodendron minutifolium, Cyperites bicarinatus, Halonia sp., Lepidodendron lycopodioides, Lepidophloios laricinus, Lepidostrobophyllum sp., Syringodendron sp. 2, Stigmaria ficoides, Asterophyllites grandis, Asterophyllites longifolius, Calamites carinatus, Calamites undulatus, Calamites cistii, Calamites sp., Pinnularia capillacea, Sphenophyllum cuneifolium, Sphenophyllum sp., Alethopteris sp. 2, Diciyoxylon sp., Eusphenopteris cf. obtusiloba, Eusphenopteris sp., Karinopteris acuta, Karinopteris sp., Neuralethopteris rectinervis, Neuralethopteris schlehanii, Lyginopteris hoeninghausi, Paripteris gigantea, Trigonocarpus parkinsonii, ?Trigonocarpus sp., Cordaicarpus cordai, Cordaites principalis, Cordaites sp. From the roof of the coal layer g(3) (Volnuhino), 36 plant taxa were determined: 21 species and 15 forms defined in the open nomenclature. Among them: Asolanus camptotaenia, Bothrodendron minutifolium, Cyperites bicarinatus, Knorria sp., Lepidodendron obovatum, Lepidodendron aculeatum, Lepidophloios laricinus, Lepidostrobophyllum majus, Syringodendron sp. 1, Stigmaria ficoides, Asterophyllites charaeformis, Asterophyllites grandis, Calamites carinatus, Calamites undulatus, Calamites cf. sachsei, Calamites sp., Calamostachys sp., Sphenophyllum cuneifolium, Alethopteris davreuxi, Alethopteris sp .1, Aulacopteris sp., Cardioneura amadoca, Cyclopteris sp., Karinopteris acuta, Karinopteris beneckei, Karinopteris cf. dernoncourti, Mariopteris cf. nervosa, Mariopteris sp., Lyginopteris hoeninghausi, Neuropteris cf. obliqua, Neuropteris sp., Palmatopteris furcata, Tetragonocarpus palibinii, Artisia approximata, Cordaites sp., Samaropsis sp. A detailed morphological comparison of the following group of species is necessary: Cardioneura amadoca, Neuropteris bulupalganensis, Neurocardiopteris asiatica, as well as species of the genus Neurocardiopteris Lutz. It is possible that Neuropteris bulupalganensis and Neurocardiopteris asiatica, having close age and morphology, will turn out to be synonyms. Hygrophilic and meso-hygrophilic plant communities were the initial plant communities for Volnukhino phytoorictocenosis. The deposits of the Mospino Formation belong to the zone of joint distribution Neuralethopteris spp. - Lyginopteris hoeninghausii (NL) schemes by O.P. Fisunenko or macrofloristic subzone Alethopteris decurrens of the Lyginopteris hoeninghausi zone of the scheme of N.I. Boyarina. Conclusions. Fossil site Volnuhino is the richest locality of the flora remains of the Mospino Formation. The deposits are sediments of a freshwater lake, peat, lagoon, delta, and coastal accumulative plain. Volnuhino's locality deserves to be granted the status of a conservation object - a paleontological geosite.