Trimanicula penultima Dumitrică, 1991

Figure 7b

1991 Trimanicula penultima Dumitrică, 1991, p. 54, pl. 3, fig. 5; pl. 4, fig. 2; pl. 8, figs. 7, 8; pl. 9, figs. 11-13.

Remarks. The species is very rare, represented until present by only the holotype. It evolved probably from the genus Patulibracchium Pessagno, its probable forerunner, by the reduction of the arms probably during the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary crisis. Judging from the morphology of the holotype, it seems that it is a young specimen with the arms incompletely developed. This holotype differs from T. centrospina Dumitrică especially by the angle between the lateral primary rays that reaches 160°, rather close to that of some Campanian species of the genus Patulibracchium illustrated by Pessagno (1971).

Range and occurrence. Earliest Paleocene, DSDP 21- 208-31 CC, Lord Howe Rise, SW Pacific.