Floriastrea
Turnsek, in Turnšek and Mihajlovic, 1981, p. 13 (ex Floria Turnsek, 1981)
Type Species
Floria planinensis Turnšek, in Turnšek and Mihajlovic, 1981: 13; Original Designation Turnšek, in Turnšek and Mihajlovic, 1981: 13
Type Specimen: Holotype; ; Verified; Unknown
Type Locality: (?Barremian-) Lower Aptian of Serbia (Skuvija).
The holotype of the type species is housed at MNS (Beograd) under M2784.
Classification
Diagnosis
Colonial, phaceloid or massive, cerioid to plocoid. Colony with lateral budding and septal division, can be followed by circumoral budding. Septa irregularly hexameral, slightly asymmetrical. Lonsdaloid septa present. Columella styliform or lamellar. Wall consisting of inner paratheca and dense peritheca. Endothecal dissepiments sparse, tabulate. Microstructure is of simple and segmented trabeculae. The diagnosis presented here represents an emended version based on the study of photographic images of the type material of excellent quality.
Remarks
In an extended discussion of the genus Floriastrea (formerly Floria), Turnšek (in Turnšek and Mihajlovic, 1981, p. 12) stated that this taxon combined features of several genera. In its septal apparatus it is similar to Actinastrea, but differs in having plocoid and phaceloid budding modes. In the development of the septa, the lamellar columella and the wall consisting of an inner paratheca and an outer peritheca it resembles Heliocoenia, but unlike that genus, it does not have a clearly expressed costate peritheca. In having both a lamellar columella and lateral budding type, Floriastrea closely corresponds to Stylosmilia, but differs from the latter in forming a cerioid-plocoid colony. In its septal structures and axial features, Floriasrea closely corresponds to Stylina but the latter has a plocoid growth form. In the genus Latusastrea the same special budding type is present, but unlike Floriastrea, Latusastrea has reduced septal developments and no columella. Because the genus name Floria had already been occupied when Turnsek described this taxon, Loser et al (2009) created the new genus name Floriastrea.
Distribution
- Southern Europe; Early Cretaceous - Late Cretaceous
- Eastern Europe; Late Cretaceous
- East Asia; Late Cretaceous
Contains
This page has been in preparation since 02-Jun-2007 12:36
This version was contributed by Rosemarie Baron-Szabo on 18-Sep-2010 21:41.
Page authors are: Rosemarie Baron-Szabo. Please contact the editor if you would like to contribute to the diagnosis of this taxon.
The editor is: Rosemarie Baron-Szabo
|