The late Maastrichtian Belemnella kazimiroviensis group (Cephalopoda, Coleoidea) in the Middle Vistula valley (Poland) and the Maastricht area (the Netherlands, Belgium) – taxonomy and palaeobiological implications

Late late Maastrichtian belemnitellid coleoids of the Belemnella kazimiroviensis group from key sections in the Middle Vistula valley in central Poland and the Maastricht area in the southeast Netherlands and northeast Belgium have been studied and compared with material from Denmark, southern and central Russia, and Central Asia as illustrated in the literature. Two species are recognised: Belemnella(Neobelemnella) kazimiroviensis (Skołozdrówna, 1932) and Belemnella (Neobelemnella) skolozdrownae (Kongiel, 1962). Populations of the kazimiroviensis group in the Nasiłów and Maastricht areas were both dominated by relatively small individuals, which might suggest that a significant number of specimens did not reach the reproductive age or changed habitat during their life cycle. Although part of the studied belemnites came from the Palaeogene deposits, we have found no evidence that they survived the K-Pg boundary, thus are interpreted as reworked.