The ) is the longest period of the Paleozoic, which was characterized by a peak of greenhouse climate in Earth history, as well as extreme high sea level (Haq and Schutter, 2008;Munnecke et al., 2010), with warm and humid conditions in early-middle period and seawater temperature up to 45°C (Trotter et al., 2008). The carbon cycle fluctuated greatly (Melchin et al., 2013;Cramer et al., 2015) and atmospheric CO 2 concentrations reached ~4200 ppm. During the

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Forty-three graptolite species belonging to fifteen genera are described from the upper Katian ornatus and pacificus biozones and Hirnantian extraordinarius and persculptus biozones of Vinini Creek and Martin Ridge reference sections of north-central Nevada. Approximately half of the species described have not been previously recorded from Nevada, six species are left in open nomenclature. Infraorder Neograptina and Styracograptus gen. nov. are erected. The maximum graptolite diversity is in organic-rich black shale in the lower part of the pacificus Biozone in the Vinini Formation. Species diversity decreased abruptly at the top of the Diceratograptus mirus Subzone, recognized herein in the upper part of the pacificus Biozone. Faunal turnover reached a peak in the lower part of early Hirnantian extraordinarius Biozone where long-dominant Ordovician clades (diplograptines) are rapidly replaced by normalograptids (Neograptina), presumably evolved in, and invading from, a less-temperate higher latitude. Eight late Katian diplograptine species recur in the upper part of the extraordinarius Biozone but, in contrast to their former abundance, are present there only as very rare individuals. Even more unusually, eight diplograptine species (members of Dicellograptus, Anticostia, Rectograptus, Paraorthograptus, Phormograptus, Styracograptus and Appendispinograptus) also reappear in the uppermost part of the Vinini Creek section, well into the persculptus Biozone (which is topped by a prominent stratigraphic unconformity). These occurrences record a complex extinction pattern among graptolites that involved a radical but extended ecological reorganization rather than a synchronous global collapse of the pre-glacial ecosystem. The biozonation applied in the Nevadan sections correlates well with those established in the Yangtze Platform of China, southern Kazakhstan, north-eastern Siberia and Northern Canada. •

The shale-dominated hemipelagic succession exposed in the southwestern part of the Prague Synform preserves the most complete Ludfordian graptolite record so far encountered from peri-Gondwanan Europe. Four graptolite biozones -the Neocucullograptus inexpectatus, Nc. kozlowskii, Pseudomonoclimacis latilobus-Slovinograptus balticus and Pristiograptus fragmentalis biozones -are recognized in the middle and late Ludfordian, between the Bohemograptus tenuis Biozone and the base of the Pridoli Series. Conodont occurrences are restricted to scattered limestone beds, but enable tentative integration of the graptolite and conodont biozonal schemes. Particular attention was paid to faunal and sedimentary changes and the carbon isotope record across the middle Ludfordian Kozlowskii extinction Event. The Kozlowskii Event caused the almost simultaneous extinction of graptolites with ventrally curved rhabdosomes. The genera Bohemograptus, Polonograptus and Neocucullograptus, along with Pseudomonoclimacis dalejensis, disappeared from the fossil record. The offshore conodont fauna recorded in the section was not strongly affected and similarly the pelagic orthocerids and nektonic Ceratiocaris passed unaffected through the extinction interval. The abundant and widespread pelagic myodocopid ostracod Entomis, however, became extinct. The late Ludfordian graptolite recovery gave origin to a novel fauna of Pridoli type from taxa that emerged or just reappeared above the Kozlowskii crisis. In Všeradice and elsewhere in the Prague Synform, the recovery, manifested by the appearance of Pseudomonoclimacis latilobus and Slovinograptus balticus, closely postdates the end of the isotope excursion but pre-dates the first appearance of the conodont index 'Ozarkodina' snajdri. Here the graptolite recovery was delayed relative to the recovery of the benthic fauna. A canalized intraformational limestone conglomerate corresponds with a gap in the sedimentary record above the Kozlowskii extinction and just below the graptolite recovery. The benthic faunas from the conglomerate matrix and pebbles permit correlation with the shallower part of the basin indicating a distinct fall in sea-level. The present data demonstrate the coincidence of the graptolite crisis with benthic faunal change and eustatic fall in sea-level manifested by facies change and the carbon isotope excursion. Polonograptus chlupaci sp. nov., from the Nc. kozlowskii Biozone, is described and several other graptolite taxa are redescribed.