ASTEROSERIIDAE Alloiteau, 1952

Löser, Hannes, 2013, Revision of the family Asteroseriidae (Anthozoa, Scleractinia, Cretaceous), Geodiversitas 35 (1), pp. 21-29 : 22-23

Family ASTEROSERIIDAE Alloiteau, 1952

RANGE. — Hauterivian to Cenomanian.

DIAGNOSIS. — Small solitary patellate corallum, generally free-living, but often attached to a small piece of shell debris or a benthic foraminifer. Calicular outline circular. Septa compact. Symmetry of septa radial and regularly hexameral with regular cycles. Septal cycles differ in length, but almost not in thickness. Septa of younger cyles often and regularly connected to septa of preceeding cycles. Septal upper margin with regular large dentations, lateral face with granulae arranged in vertical rows. Pali or paliform lobes absent. Synapticulae present, in a regular pattern. Columella formed by septal fusion in the centre of the calice or parietal. Endotheca absent. Wall compact, formation unknown.

REMARKS

Microstructures are hardly preserved in all studied specimens, but the coarsly ornamented upper margins of the septal distal border suggests that the septa are composed of large trabeculae.

SYSTEMATIC POSITION

The comparable large trabeculae, ornamentation of the lateral face and upper margin of the septa, and the pattern of the synapticulae clearly indicates that the family should be placed into the suborder Fungiina . The existence of fulturae (Gill 1981) could only be proven in one species due to preservation problems and the scarcity of samples. The Asteroseriidae are probably the ancestors of the modern Fungiidae .

COMPARISON

The Micrabaciidae Vaughan, 1905 (suborder Fungiina ) have perforated septa and a perforated wall. The Funginellidae Alloiteau, 1952 (suborder Fungiina , currently only encompassing the genera Funginella d’Orbigny, 1849 and Elasmogyra Beauvais, 1982 ) are characterised (based on the type material of Cyclolites haueri Michelin, 1847 , type species of Funginella ) by much larger coralla showing septa with larger trabeculae. The fine structure of the septa and presence or absence of synapticulae in these taxa are unknown. The members of the Cyclolitidae Milne-Edwards & Haime, 1849 (suborder Microsolenina ) are also larger and show pennulae and perforated septa.

GENERA OF THE FAMILY

The family was established for two solitary coral genera of the Cenomanian: Asteroseris de Fromentel,

1867 and Microseris de Fromentel, 1867 . Both genera were monospecific when established. Included here is Actinoseris d’Orbigny, 1849 , which was considered by Alloiteau (1956, unpubl.) to belong to the Siderastraeidae Vaughan & Wells, 1943 , but by Zlatarski (1968) to belong to the Funginellidae . Actinoseris was established with two species. More species were later assigned to all three genera. The genera differ by the formation of their columella and the distribution of synapticulae. In Asteroseris septa of the first cycle are fused together in the centre of the calice, whereas in both other genera a trabecular columella exist. The distinction between Actinoseris and Microseris is weak; both genera differ only in the distribution of synapticulae.