Systematic taxonomy of middle miocene sphaeroidinellopsis (planktonic foraminifera)

The taxonomy and phylogeny of the Miocene to Recent genus Sphaeroidinellopsis have been documented in previous studies, but the evolution of this lineage remains unclear. Some authors have debated this genus in the past, choosing a variety of parameters to discriminate the morphospecies. Here we present new scanning electron microscope analyses of specimens from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 925 (Ceara Rise, western equatorial Atlantic) and ODP Site 959 (Deep Ivorian Basin, eastern equatorial Atlantic). Our study reveals transitional individuals Sphaeroidinellopsis disjuncta–Sphaeroidinellopsis kochi, a speciation event never described previously. These transitional specimens are characterized by extreme morphological features such as elongated and sac-like final chambers, requiring amendments to the current classification and taxonomy of these morphospecies. In this paper, an alternative hypothesis is presented and discussed, to assess these new observations within the evolutionary mosaic of Sphaeroidinellopsis.

Atlantic Ocean, Miocene, Sphaeroidinellopsis, evolution, planktonic foraminifera, taxonomy

10.1080/14772019.2021.1991500

1477-2019

953-968

Fabbrini, Alessio

250378cd-2fbf-45d2-a545-da01d2390b7e

Zaminga, Ilaria

90338cbd-b98c-4179-9948-4e3fcaa3278d

Ezard, Thomas

a143a893-07d0-4673-a2dd-cea2cd7e1374

Wade, B.S.

4caf9386-0e3f-479b-a491-6c8dff99dad1

13 December 2021

Fabbrini, Alessio

250378cd-2fbf-45d2-a545-da01d2390b7e

Zaminga, Ilaria

90338cbd-b98c-4179-9948-4e3fcaa3278d

Ezard, Thomas

a143a893-07d0-4673-a2dd-cea2cd7e1374

Wade, B.S.

4caf9386-0e3f-479b-a491-6c8dff99dad1

Fabbrini, Alessio, Zaminga, Ilaria, Ezard, Thomas and Wade, B.S. (2021) Systematic taxonomy of middle miocene sphaeroidinellopsis (planktonic foraminifera). Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, 19 (13), 953-968. (doi:10.1080/14772019.2021.1991500).

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Accepted/In Press date: 25 August 2021

Published date: 13 December 2021

Additional Information: Funding Information: We thank Jim Davy for assistance with SEM and his help during the preparation process. This research used samples provided by the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) and its predecessors. AF and BW were supported by the Natural Environment Research Council (grant number NE/P019013/1); THGE was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council (grant number NE/P019269/1). The authors are very grateful to Dr Adriane Lam and the anonymous reviewer for their taxonomic comments and help in improving the manuscript. Funding Information: We thank Jim Davy for assistance with SEM and his help during the preparation process. This research used samples provided by the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) and its predecessors. AF and BW were supported by the Natural Environment Research Council (grant number NE/P019013/1); THGE was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council (grant number NE/P019269/1). The authors are very grateful to Dr Adriane Lam and the anonymous reviewer for their taxonomic comments and help in improving the manuscript. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Keywords: Atlantic Ocean, Miocene, Sphaeroidinellopsis, evolution, planktonic foraminifera, taxonomy

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