Late Oligocene - Miocene non-lunulate sand dollars of South America: Revision of abertellid taxa and descriptions of two new families, two new genera, and a new species
Author
Mooi, Rich
Author
Martínez, Sergio A.
Author
Del Río, Claudia J.
Author
Ramos, Maria Inês Feijó
text
Zootaxa
2018
2018-01-05
4369
3
301
326
journal article
31071
10.11646/zootaxa.4369.3.1
34826a1d-7146-4d75-9585-b226f798ffdb
1175-5326
1135772
97CAA2FC-F3CC-407B-8768-2BB9DE037C86
Iheringiella patagonensis
(Desor in
Agassiz & Desor, 1847
)
Figures 1
,
4
.
Diagnosis
. As for the family and genus. We note, in addition, that
I. patagonensis
is the only South American scutelliform clypeasteroid in which test length and width are nearly equal (all other such species being significantly wider than long).
Occurrence.
Arguably the most commonly encountered species of clypeasteroid in South America,
I. patagonensis
was evidently widespread during the late Oligocene and early Miocene in the southern Patagonian region of
Argentina
from the southern edge of Golfo San Jorge south to the northern edge of
Tierra del Fuego
(
Fig. 1
, inset). The recent discovery of specimens from the early Miocene Guadal Formation extends the known range of
I. patagonensis
westward to the Pampa Castillo region of southern
Chile
(
Frassinetti & Covacevich, 1999; Andre Wyss, pers. comm.
).
Remarks
. We recommend usage of the original spelling of the species name used in Desor (1847) and
Agassiz & Desor (1847)
. Desor (1847) only listed names of taxa from Patagonia, without accompanying figures or descriptions, and these names are therefore here considered
nomina nuda
. In the same year, Desor (in
Agassiz & Desor, 1847
) provided cursory, but valid descriptions of two taxa, with locality information from the Patagonian region. Lacking figures, these descriptions have been the source of great confusion ever since. The
type
of one of these forms,
Echinarachnius juliensis
, from "Port Saint Julien" (Desor in
Agassiz & Desor, 1847
: 134), is known to exist in the collections of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, in Cambridge,
Massachusetts
. All known specimens presently identified as
Iheringiella patagonensis
compare favorably with this
type
. The
types
of the second form,
Scutella patagonensis
, reported to be from "Port Desire" (Desor in
Agassiz & Desor, 1847
: 135), have not been yet been found.
The situation is made more difficult by our inability to locate the original material upon which
Lahille (1898)
based his revision. Given the complex taxonomic history of the species involved, along with the provenance of the material, a full revision of the nomenclature is warranted and pending. For comparison with other taxa described herein, we provide a map of plate architecture of the oral surface of a typical specimen from the
Puerto
Santa Cruz
region of
Argentina
. This specimen compares most favorably with the
type
of
Scutella juliensis
. However, as is common for all such material, it is identified as
Iheringiella patagonensis
until the situation concerning the relationship between the
types
of
S. juliensis
and
I. patagonensis
can be resolved. What seems clear from the present evidence is that these two named entities are congeneric.
Iheringiella
does not have any indication of a posterior notch, making it the only described species of South American scutelliform to lack this feature.