Original descriptions of taxa. For coccolithophores, and many calcispheres, these are pages from the Farinacci & Howe Catalog of Calcareous Nannofossils. In other cases (e.g. non-calcifying haptophytes) the data is directly compiled on this site. The "Catalogue of Calcareous Nannofossils" was originally compiled by Prof A. Farinacci 1969-1989, since 2000 it has been updated and extended by Richard Howe - see The Farinacci and Howe Catalog - an Introduction.
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Compiled data
Citation: Eprolithaceae Black 1973taxonomic rank: FamilyType species: Eprolithus Stover 1966Described on page(s) : 99Farinacci catalog page (& compiler): 3>2
Original Description Diagnosis. Coccoliths consisting of a short cylindrical tube closed at some level by a diaphragm comprising either nine triangular sectors or nine imbricating, rhombohedral plates. Extra details from original publication Remarks. The Gault contains several species of coccoliths with a plan of construction dominated by a nine-fold symmetry. They clearly constitute a small family of their own. Some of the best-known of them have been referred by various authors to the genus Lithastrinus Stradner, and it would seem a natural choice to make this genus the nomenclatural type for the new family. Unfortunately L. grillii Stradner, the type species of Lithastrinus, is a six-rayed species to which it is not obvious that the Gault forms are at all closely related. L. floralis Stradner on the other hand is a nine-rayed form so strikingly similar to the Gault coccoliths that a close relationship seems likely. Its detailed structure is well known from observations both in polarized light and under the electron microscope, and is sufficiently different from that of L. grillii to justify Stover's removal of it to a separate genus, Eprolithus. Eprolithus is therefore selected as the nomenclatural type for the new family, whose relationship to Lithrastrinus sensu stricto is a matter for further investigation
References:
Black, M. (1973). British Lower Cretaceous Coccoliths. I-Gault Clay (Part 2). Palaeontographical Society Monograph. 127: 49-112. gs
Eprolithaceae: Catalog entry compiled by <% compiler %>. Viewed: 15-9-2024
