Morphometric analysis of Eocene nummulitids in western and central Cuba: taxonomy, biostratigraphy and evolutionary trends
Author
Torres-Silva, Ana. I.
Department of Palaeontology, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090, Vienna, Austria;
Author
Eder, Wolfgang
Department of Palaeontology, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090, Vienna, Austria;
Author
Hohenegger, Johann
Department of Palaeontology, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090, Vienna, Austria;
Author
Briguglio, Antonino
Dipartimento di Scienze della, Terra dell’Ambiente e della Vita, Universita ́ degli Studi di Genova, Corso Europa, 26, I- 16132 Genova, Italy
text
Journal of Systematic Palaeontology
2018
2018-04-13
17
7
557
595
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14772019.2018.1446462
journal article
10.1080/14772019.2018.1446462
1478-0941
Genus
Operculinoides
Hanzawa, 1935
Diagnosis.
Planispiral, involute or partially involute in the nepionic stage, becoming evolute in the adult stage.
Tests with the strongest marginal radius increase and strongest backward bend angles of the investigated individuals, producing rapidly widening coils and highly projecting later chambers. Chambers are up to 4 times as high as wide and are separated by primary operculine septa with septal undulations, which are more pronounced in loosely coiled forms. These forms with the highest values in chamber height in the adult stage have chambers up to 10 times higher than wide. The marginal cord is moderately well developed.
Characters and attributes (means and standard deviations) for
Operculinoides
and comparison to
Nummulites
and
Palaeoummulites
are given in
Table 6
.
Occurrences.
Operculinoides
is common in the middle and late Eocene.
Table 6.
Characters and attributes (means and standard deviations, SD, in mm) for
Operculinoides
and comparisons with
Nummulites
and
Palaeoummulites.
Symbol key: ++, strong positive differences with <1% error probability; 0, no significant differences; ――, strong negative differences with <1% error probability.
Operculinoides
|
Mean |
SD |
Palaeonummulites
|
Nummulites
|
First chamber length |
369.0 |
165.69 |
++ |
0 |
Proloculus nominal diameter |
146.3 |
67.08 |
0 |
―― |
Deuteroloculus ratio |
1.166 |
0.1684 |
++ |
++ |
Initial marginal radius |
192.0 |
88.59 |
0 |
―― |
Marginal radius increase |
0.126 |
0.0191 |
0 |
++ |
Spiral chamber height increase |
2.8 |
1.15 |
++ |
―― |
Initial spiral chamber height |
62.5 |
32.84 |
0 |
―― |
Backbend angle |
0.636 |
0.1120 |
0 |
++ |
Initial chamber length |
224.0 |
126.60 |
++ |
0 |
Chamber length increase |
0.048 |
0.0220 |
0 |
++ |
Perimeter ratio |
1.392 |
0.1130 |
0 |
++ |
Remarks.
Eames
et al
. (1962)
included
Operculinoides
Hanzawa, 1935
as a synonym of
Palaeonummulites
based on the
type
species
Palaeonummulites willcoxi
with a tight coil producing chambers one and half times higher than long, i.e. almost square. This was followed by
Haynes (1988)
,
Robinson & Wright (1993)
and
Haynes
et al
. (2010)
. However, the other
Operculinoides
species
, such as the
O. floridensis
group with a clear operculinid lax coiling and gradational involution, cannot be considered
Palaeonummulites
. It would be necessary to change the
type
species of
Operculinoides
to distinguish these forms generically. The species
O. floridensis
seems to be the best candidate, as has already been suggested by
Butterlin (1981)
, because the variability of the coiling mode encompasses characteristics of
Palaeonummulites
,
Operculinoides
and
Operculina
.