Late Neogene Lophophaenidae (Nassellaria, Radiolaria) from the eastern equatorial Pacific
Author
Trubovitz, Sarah
Author
Renaudie, Johan
Author
Lazarus, David
Author
Noble, Paula
text
Zootaxa
2022
2022-07-04
5160
1
1
158
http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5160.1.1
journal article
10.11646/zootaxa.5160.1.1
11755334
A9179C79-EE43-44E4-8723-919505500049
Genus
Ceratocyrtis
Bütschli 1882
, emend
Sugiyama, 1993
Type species:
Cornutella
?
cucullaris
Ehrenberg, 1874
Description.
Two-segmented lophophaenid with a small cephalis relative to the width of the thorax. The thorax is usually conical in shape. The dorsal and lateral spines protrude from the base of the cephalis rather than forming thoracic ribs, differentiating this genus from
Lampromitra
.
The dorsal spine points downward relative to the nearhorizontal lateral spines. The lateral spines are oriented at nearly a right angle from the dorsal spine, making them difficult to identify in the same plane as the dorsal, ventral, and apical spines.
Ceratocyrtis
also has a distinctively elongated axobate, which extends straight downward from near the junction of the median bar and lateral spines into the interior of the thorax. The axobate is often dendritic.
Remarks.
Ceratocyrtis
was first described by
Bütschli (1882)
. He recognized two separate forms in the previously described genus
Cornutella
(
Ehrenberg, 1839
)
, and broke out several species as belonging to the new genus
Ceratocyrtis
.
Bütschli (1882)
described this genus as having a muted cephalis that is difficult to distinguish in exterior outline, primary spines likely corresponding to those of
Lithomelissa
, and a downward-pointing apophyse (referred to as the axial spine by
Sugiyama (1993)
, and the axobate in this paper). This definition has remained fairly consistent in the literature, with subsequent authors adding clarification to the internal skeletal characteristics. However, there has been some disagreement as to the higher-level taxonomy and the species that should be included in this genus.
Petrushevskaya (1971)
considered
Ceratocyrtis
to be a lophophaenid, and designated the
type
species of
Ceratocyrtis
as
Cornutella
?
cucullaris
Ehrenberg 1874
. She determined that the
type
species of
Ceratocyrtis
,
Helotholus
,
and
Bathrocalpis
were not sufficiently different to justify separate genera, so she synonymized these three genera under the senior name
Ceratocyrtis
. Although we agree that the
type
species of
Helotholus
,
H. histricosa
Jørgensen, 1905
, should be in the genus
Ceratocyrtis
,
we do not consider all species in
Helotholus
to fit this definition.
H. praevema
Weaver, 1983
, for example, we do not consider to be
Ceratocyrtis
, but a revision of its taxonomy is outside the scope of this paper.
Nishimura (1990)
considered
Ceratocyrtis
to belong to Sethophormidae rather than
Lophophaenidae
. However, she accepted the genus concepts of
Bütschli, 1882
,
Haeckel, 1887
,
Petrushevskaya, 1971
,
Petrushevskaya and Kozlova, 1979
, and
Bjørklund, 1976
. Like
Petrushevskaya (1971)
,
Nishimura (1990)
considered
Ceratocyrtis
to be synonymous with
Helotholus
(sensu
Jørgensen, 1905
, and
Campbell, 1954
)
and
Bathrocalpis
(
Clark and Campbell, 1942
, and
Campbell, 1954
).
Sugiyama (1993)
closely followed the genus concept of
Petrushevskaya (1971)
, but included detailed diagrams illustrating and clarifying the internal skeletal structure of
Ceratocyrtis
(figs. 21–22).
Matsuzaki
et al.
(2015)
remarked that
Ceratocyrtis
species
often have a large or wide thorax with a small cephalis, whereas
Helotholus
species
have a shorter thorax and more distinct cephalis. Therefore, they consider these to be two separate and valid genera. In the present study, we consider the
type
species of
Helotholus
(
H. histricosa
)
to be within the range of variation among our other observed
Ceratocyrtis
species
, and thus follow
Petrushevskaya (1971)
’s synonymy.
Here we observed the following species belonging to
Ceratocyrtis
:
Ceratocyrtis
? chimii
n. sp.,
Ceratocyrtis cucullaris
(Ehrenberg)
Petrushevskaya, 1971
,
Ceratocyrtis histricosus
(
Jørgensen 1905
)
Petrushevskaya, 1971
,
Ceratocyrtis spinosiretis
(
Takahashi, 1991
)
Matsuzaki
et al.,
2015
, and
Ceratocyrtis vila
n. sp.
Ceratocyrtis
? pseudoadvena
Kozlova, 1999
is poorly documented, but does not appear to fit the description of
Ceratocyrtis
due to the nature of the cephalis.
Ceratocyrtis erosa
(Cleve)
Petrushevskaya, 1971
was transferred from Cleve’s designation as
Lampromitra
, but it is our opinion that it should remain in
Lampromitra
. Similarly,
Ceratocyrtis sinuosa
(Popofsky)
Petrushevskaya, 1971
was also transferred from
Lampromitra
by Petrushevskaya, but we consider it to fit better in
Lampromitra
than
Ceratocyrtis
so do not accept this transfer.
Range.
?Eocene—Recent