Distinguishing features: Parent taxon (truncatulinoides lineage): G. crasula - crassaformis - tosaensis - truncatulinoides lineage, predominantly conicotruncate This taxon: Low trochospiral, strongly umbilico-convex with flat spiral side, commonly 5 chambers in final whorl
NB These concise distinguishing features statements are used in the tables of daughter-taxa to act as quick summaries of the differences between e.g. species of one genus. They are being edited as the site is developed and comments on them are especially welcome.
Description
Diagnostic characters: Low trochospiral, strongly umbilico-convex with flat spiral side, commonly 5 chambers in final whorl
Aperture: Interiomarginal umbilical-extraumbilical low-arched slit bordered by lip [Aze 2011, based on Kennett & Srinivasan 1983]
Morphology: Test low trochospiral, spiral side flat to concave, umbilical side strongly convex giving the test a corncal appearance; equatorial periphery almost circular; axial periphery subrounded to subacute; chambers inflated, commonly 5 in the final whorl, increasing fairly rapidly in size; sutures on spiral side gently curved and somewhat flush to gently depressed, on umbilical side almost radial, depressed, surface finely perforate, pustulate on umbilical side and on early chambers on spiral side; umbilicus narrow, deep; aperture interiomarginal, extraumbilical-umbilical, a low slit bordered by a lip. [Kennett & Srinivasan 1983] Wall type:
K_S 1983 34-1.JPG
Non-spinose; Smooth [Aze 2011]
Character matrix
test outline:
Subcircular
chamber arrangement:
Trochospiral
edge view:
Planoconvex
aperture:
Umbilical-extraumbilical
sp chamber shape:
Crescentic
coiling axis:
Low
periphery:
N/A
aperture border:
Thin lip
umb chbr shape:
Subtriangular
umbilicus:
Narrow
periph margin shape:
Narrowly rounded
accessory apertures:
None
spiral sutures:
Flush
umb depth:
Shallow
wall texture:
Smooth
shell porosity:
Macroperforate: >2.5µm
umbilical or test sutures:
Weakly depressed
final-whorl chambers:
4-5
N.B. These characters are used for advanced search. N/A - not applicable
Biogeography and Palaeobiology
Geographic distributionWarm sub- tropical to tropical; Rare in temperate regions. [Kennett & Srinivasan 1983] Low latitudes [Aze et al. 2011, based on Kennett & Srinivasan (1983)]
[SCOR WG138]
Isotope paleobiologyAze et al. 2011 ecogroup 4 - Open ocean sub-thermocline. Based on very light δ13C and very heavy δ18O. Sources cited by Aze et al. 2011 (appendix S3): Shackleton & Vincent (1978) Phylogenetic relationsGr. (T.) tosaensis resembles Gr. (T.) truncatulinoides in general appearance but is distinguished primarily by the absence of a peripheral keel (PI. 34; Fig. 1). It differs from Gr. (T.) crassaformis in its rounded equatorial profile and by having more than four chambers in the final whorl. Gr. (T.) tosaensis evolved during the Late Pliocene from Gr. (T.) crassaformis via the Gr. (T.) crassaformis ronda morphotype. [Kennett & Srinivasan 1983]
Geological Range: Last occurrence (top): at base of PT1b subzone (1% up, 0.6Ma, in Ionian stage). Data source: Wade et al. (2011), zonal marker First occurrence (base): in upper part of PL5 [Atl.] zone (72% up, 2.6Ma, in Piacenzian stage). Data source: Wade et al. (2011), additional event; position within zone determined by linear interpolation from data in table 1 of Wade et al. (2011).
Plot of occurrence data:
Range-bar - range as quoted above, pink interval top occurs in, green interval base occurs in.
Triangles indicate an event for which a precise placement has been suggested.
Grey shading between taxa indicates intergrading species within an anagenetic lineage (data from
Lamyman et al. 2026).
Histogram - Neptune occurrence data from DSDP and ODP proceedings. Pale shading <50 samples in time bin. Interpret with caution & read these notes
Primary source for this page: Kennett & Srinivasan 1983, p.148
References:
Aze, T., et al. (2011). A phylogeny of Cenozoic macroperforate planktonic foraminifera from fossil data. Biological Reviews. 86: 900-927. gs
Brummer, G-J. A. & Kucera, M. (2022). Taxonomic review of living planktonic foraminifera. Journal of Micropalaeontology. 41: 29-74. gs
Kennett, J. P. & Srinivasan, M. S. (1983). Neogene Planktonic Foraminifera. Hutchinson Ross Publishing Co., Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. 1-265. gs
Lam, A. & Leckie, R. M. (2020a). Late Neogene and Quaternary diversity and taxonomy of subtropical to temperate planktic foraminifera across the Kuroshio Current Extension, northwest Pacific Ocean. Micropaleontology. 66(3): 177-268. gs
Postuma, J. A. (1971). Manual of planktonic foraminifera. Elsevier for Shell Group, The Hague. 1-406. gs
Shackleton, N. J. & Vincent, E. (1978). Oxygen and carbon isotope studies in Recent Foraminifera from the southeast Indian Ocean. Marine Micropaleontology. 3: 1-13. gs
Takayanagi, Y. & Saito, T. (1962). Planktonic foraminifera from the Nobori formation, Shikoku, Japan. Science Reports of the Tohoku University. 2(5): 67-105. gs
Wade, B. S., Pearson, P. N., Berggren, W. A. & Pälike, H. (2011). Review and revision of Cenozoic tropical planktonic foraminiferal biostratigraphy and calibration to the geomagnetic polarity and astronomical time scale. Earth-Science Reviews. 104: 111-142. gs
Globorotalia tosaensis compiled by the pforams@mikrotax project teamviewed: 15-8-2026