Dictyoconella Henson, 1948, Upper Cretaceous Larger Benthic Foraminifera: A Taxonomic Revision With The Establishment Of Gusicella Gen. Nov. (Type-Species Dictyoconella Minima Henson)
Author
SCHLAGINTWEIT, FELIX
Author
RASHIDI, KOOROSH
text
Acta Palaeontologica Romaniae
2021
2021-02-17
17
2
3
13
http://dx.doi.org/10.35463/j.apr.2021.02.01
journal article
10.35463/j.apr.2021.02.01
1842-371x
12583322
Dictyoconella complanata
Henson, 1948
Figs. 2
a-b pars, 3-4
1948
Dictyoconella complanata
n. gen., n. sp.
– Henson, p. 25, plate 6, figs. 2-3, 16, pl. 10, fig. 14.
1986
Dictyoconella complanata
Henson
– Köylüoğlu, pl. 86, fig. 1 pars.
1998
Dictyoconella complanata
Henson
– Whittaker et al., pl. 47, figs. 4-6.
2016
Dictyoconus bakhtiari
Schlagintweit et al.
– Schlagintweit et al., fig.
8g
, fig.
10f.
2020
Dictyoconella complanata
Henson
–Schlagintweit, p. 75, fig. 4d-f.
Description:
See the genus description.
Dimensions:
Test diameter: up to
4.8 mm
(
3.3 mm
,
holotype
specimen of
Henson, 1948
)
Test height:
3.6 mm
(
2.9 mm
,
holotype
specimen of
Henson, 1948
)
Thickness: mostly between 0.8 and
0.9 mm
(~
0.8 mm
,
Henson, 1948
)
Fig. 7
Gusicella minima
(Henson)
gen. et comb. nov.
from the late Maastrichtian of the Tarbur Formation, SW Iran (Mandegan section:
b, l
; Naghan section:
a, c–k
).
a
Oblique transverse section.
b
Oblique section cutting the marginal (upper part) and central zones (lower part) displaying irregularly distributed fused pillars/secondary deposits.
c, k
Subaxial sections.
d–g,
Axial sections showing initial spire.
h–i
Details (from
e
and
g
) of the initial spire.
j
Tangential section. Slightly oblique transverse sections showing subdivision of the marginal zone and circle of marginal apertures (left and above). Abbreviations: m.f. = marginal foramen, m.t. = marginal trough, pr = protoconch, s.d. = secondary deposits/fused pillars. Thin sections: 2Ng 17 (
a, k
), Rt 100 (
b
), Ng 180-1 (
c
), 2Ng 179-1 (
d
), 2Ng 168 (
e, h
), 2Ng 175 (
f
), 2Ng 174 (
g, i
), 2Ng 177 (
j
), Rt 113 (
l
).
Fig. 8
Gusicella minima
(Henson)
gen. et comb. nov.
from the late Maastrichtian of the Tarbur Formation, SW Iran (Naghan section:
a–b, j, l
; Mandegan section:
c–i, k, m–p
).
a
Subaxial section.
b, i, l
Oblique sections.
c–e, m
Deep tangential sections displaying primary septules (beams) continuous (aligned) from one chamber to the next.
f
Shallow tangential section displaying subepidermal network of beams and rafters.
g, j, l, o–p
Different transverse sections, some slightly oblique. Note five marginal foramina arranged in a radial circle (inside yellow marked rectangle in
o
). Note oval test outline in
j.
Subaxial section. Note alternation of pillars by stairway-like arrangement of foramina (yellow line) and opaque fused pillars/secondary deposits in the central zone.
k
Detail from
h
showing marginal foramina arranged in vertical lines between successive chambers.
n
Tangential-oblique section. Abbreviations: b = beam, ib = intercalary beam, f = foramen, m.f. = marginal foramen, m.t. = marginal through, pi = pillar, s = septum. Thin sections: Ng 196 (
a
), Ng 192 (
b
), Rt 108-3 (
c–e, g, n
), Rt 104 (
f
), Rt 96 (
h, k
), Rt 108-6 (
i
), Ng 187 (
j
), Ng 186 (
l
), Rt 107 (
m
), Rt 102-2 (
o
), Rt 104 (
p
).
Number of chambers last mm axial length: 7-9 (about 7,
Henson, 1948
)
Remarks:
The dimorphism of
D. complanata
is well constrained by the biloculine embryo in the A-form and an indiscernible embryo within a close-coiled whorl including more chambers in the B-form (one section only, see
Fig. 4b
). The differences in the external test morphology between the two generations are unknown. In the family
Orbitolinidae
, B-specimens are generally larger and more flattened (e.g.
Hofker, 1966
). In the Iranian Tarbur Formation,
D. complanata
is comparably rare and only a couple of sections are available. Due to the revision presented herein,
Dictyoconella
becomes a monospecific genus and an assumed Maastrichtian newcomer that became extinct shortly afterwards at the K-Pg boundary. Besides the Tarbur Formation of
Iran
,
D. complanata
has been reported so far from the Maastrichtian Garzan Formation of southeastern
Turkey
(
Köylüoğlu, 1986
) revealing some kind of bioprovincialism, which requires subsequent study (
Schlagintweit, 2020a
).