Cymbaloporella Cushman 1927

Mamo, Briony L., 2016, Benthic Foraminifera from the Capricorn Group, Great Barrier Reef, Australia, Zootaxa 4215 (1), pp. 1-123 : 87-88

Cymbaloporella Cushman 1927

Cymbaloporella tabellaeformis ( Brady 1884) ( Fig. 21 :7–12)

1884 Cymbalopora tabellaeformis Brady , p. 637, pl. 102, figs 15–18.

1915 Cymbalopora tabellaeformis Brady ; Heron-Allen, p. 258, pl. 18, fig. 53.

1960 Cymbaloporella tabellaeformis (Brady) ; Barker, p. 210, pl. 102, figs 15–18. 1993 Cymbaloporella tabellaeformis (Brady) ; Hottinger et al., p. 119, pl. 159, figs 1–6.

1997 Cymbaloporella tabellaeformis (Brady) ; Haig, p. 276, fig. 6: 15, 16.

2002 Cymbaloporella tabellaeformis (Brady) ; Bicchi et al., p. 281, fig. 7: 15. 2009 Cymbaloporella tabellaeformis (Brady) ; Parker, p. 548, figs 389a–j, 390a–e. 2012 Cymbaloporella tabellaeformis (Brady) ; Debenay, p. 235, pl. 22.

Description. See Brady (1884, p. 637, pl. 102, figs 15–18), Hottinger et al. (1993, p. 119, pl. 159, figs 1–6) and Parker (2009, p. 548, figs 389a–j, 390a–e).

Remarks. Cymbaloporella tabellaeformis ( Brady 1884) is characterised by a broadly elongate, oval shaped test with a rounded periphery and distinctly deep chambers. Spiral side covered with misshapen, vaguely crescentic and coarsely perforate chambers with depressed sutures. The umbilical side bears inflated, elongate, radiating oval sutures that are occasionally perforate in small clustered areas and numerous slit-like apertures with lips extending along their margins ( Fig. 21 :7–12).

This species bears great similarity to Cymbaloporetta bradyi ( Cushman 1915) also collected from the CG, especially the chamber shape, ornament and apertures. However, C. bradyi is non-tabulate and a more circular outline is more common compared to the elongate, tabellae-form shape of C. tabellaeformis . Baccaert (1987, cited in Parker 2009) stated that there were two forms of C. tabellaeformis , the tabellae-form and an additional circular form that strongly resembles C. bradyi , particuarly as juveniles. Heron-Allen (1915, pl. 17, fig. 54; pl.18, figs 53a, b, 55, 56) only illustrated the circular form of C. tabellaeformis as a cementing foraminifera that attaches itself both spiral (pl. 17, fig. 54) and umbilical side up (pl. 18, fig. 55) to coral rubble in an excavated niche. Whilst the circular form is clearly present in Heron-Allen’s illustrations (1915, pl. 18, fig. 53) as are the deep chambers visible in the peripheral view (Heron-Allen 1915, pl. 18, fig. 53c), the juvenile form also closely resembles the cemented taxon, Millettiana milletti ( Heron-Allen & Earland 1915) previously collected from the CG. Millettiana milletti has the same circular outline as C. tabellaeformis , but more importantly, it has raised imperforate sutures on the spiral side that assist in identifying M. milletti when the umbilical test side is not visible. In addition, the distinctly deep chambers of C. tabellaeformis can be difficult to see. Hottinger (1993) illlustrated both the tabellae form and the circular form of C. tabellaeformis , but did not make a comparison to C. bradyi . Debenay (2012) similarly illustrated both forms together though the umbilical side of their tabellae form displays remarkably smaller and more numerous apertures than any other specimen synonymised here. Baccaert (1987) separated the two morphotypes by using the number of apertures along the umbilical suture. The tabellae-form has more apertures along the sutures than the circular juvenile form. However, when comparison is made between C. bradyi and the juvenile form of C. tabellaeformis , the number of apertures, shape and chambers are practically identical and following Parker (2009), the CG specimens are referred to C. tabellaeformis . The only other feature that may assist in differentiating the circular form of C. tabellaeformis from C. bradyi is the chamber shape in that the peripheral chambers of C. tabellaeformis are broader and deeper than C. bradyi . More morphological investigation is required before these two taxa can be confidently separated.

Parker (2009) also recorded the two morphotypes of C. tabellaeformis . The circular form is similar to the material illustrated by Baccaert (1987) and Hottinger et al. (1993) and also resembles C. bradyi , but the tabellae form has a chamber arrangement with anastomising pores on the spiral side that obscure the crescentic outline of the chamber and the umbilical side is coarsely perforate with apertures extending out from the sutures in the form of tubercules. This latter morphotype is absent from the CG.

The original specimens documented by Brady (1884, see Barker 1960) were from Fiji at a depth of 384 m, the Ki Islands at a depth of 236 m and the Philippines from depths of 173– 182 m . Despite this, the type locality listed by Ellis & Messina (1940) for C. tabellaeformis is the shore sands at Tamatavé , east coast of Madagascar. This species has a global distribution ( Kerimba Archipelago—Heron-Allen 1915; Lizard Island , GBR—Baccaert 1987; Gulf of Aqaba—Hottinger et al. 1993; Exmouth Gulf—Haig 1997; Ningaloo Reef—Parker 2009). Bicchi et al. (2002) identified C. tabellaeformis as a dominant species from the central Tuamotu Archipelago , French Polynesia and Debenay (2012) reported this species from the southwestern lagoon of New Caledonia from depths ranging between 5– 30 m .

Distribution within study area. Cymbaloporella tabellaeformis was collected from all sampled reef areas except for the channel sample, but were more frequently collected from Heron Reef flat and One Tree Lagoons than Heron and Wistari Lagoons and Sykes Reef. Abundance never exceeded seven specimens per site and was greatest at site 20 in One Tree Lagoon 2, site 20 in One Tree Lagoon 3 and site 10 along ST/HW transect across Heron Reef flat.

Figures

FIGURE 21. (Unless otherwise specified all scale bars = 100 µm). 1 – 6. Epistomaroides punctatus (Said 1949). 1 – 2. QM # G 466014 from T 1 – 10 umbilical (1) and peripheral (2) views. 3 – 4. QM # G 466013 from T 1 – 10, peripheral spiral (3) and umbilical (4) views. Scale bar = 200 µm. 5 – 6. QM # G 465885 from ST / HW 4, umbilical (5) and peripheral (6) views. Scale bar = 200 µm. 7 – 12. Cymbaloporella tabellaeformis (Brady, 1884). 7 – 8. QM # G 466011 from OTI 48, spiral (7) and peripheral (8) views. 9 – 10. QM # G 465991 from OTI 51 peripheral (9) and umbilical (10) views. Scale bar for 9 = 50 µm. 11 – 12. QM # G 466084 from OTI 51 spiral (11) and umbilical (12) views. 13 – 17. Cymbaloporetta bradyi (Cushman, 1915). 13. QM # G 465886 from ST / HW 4, spiral view. 14. QM # G 465887 from ST / HW 4, umbilical view. 15. QM # G 465808 from T 2 – 3, umbilical view. 16 – 17. QM # G 466010 spiral (16) and peripheral (17) views. 18 – 20. Cymbaloporetta cf. C. grandis (Cushman, 1934), QM # G 466037 from T 2 – 1. 18. Peripheral view. 19. Peripheral / float chamber view. 20. Spiral view.