Eopreverastrea, Löser & Nieto & Castro & Reolid, 2019

Löser, Hannes, Nieto, Luis M., Castro, José Manuel & Reolid, Matías, 2019, A Lower Valanginian coral fauna from the South Iberian Palaeomargin (Internal Prebetic, SE Spain), Palaeontologia Electronica (a 06) 24 (1), pp. 1-57 : 36

Genus EOPREVERASTREA gen. nov. Löser zoobank.org/ 5C7B540D-5D39-48EF-9C35-A42430602B37

Type species. Eopreverastrea llanoensis sp. nov. Löser.

Etymology. As a possible precursor of the genus Preverastraea .

Diagnosis. Astreoid colony. Corallite outline irregular. Septa compact. Microstructure of small-sized trabeculae, septa with a central dark line. Septa in cross section externally slightly thicker, tapering slightly towards the centre. Septal maximum thickness 500 µm. Symmetry of septa radial and regularly developed, in the type species in a pentameral symmetry. Cycles of septa subregular, one cycle of five septa in the type species. Septa hardly enter into the calicular space, they are very short, reduced to ridges, not connected to each other. A main septum is present but it is very thin and rather an apophysal ornamentation. Septal distal margin unknown, lateral face with fine thorns, inner margin with apophysal septa. All septa visible in the corallite are apophysal septa. They are thin and in an irregular number. Pali absent. Costae present, confluent or not. Synapticulae absent. Columella absent. Endotheca consists of large dissepiments. The compact wall has the same structure as septa, is therefore septothecal. Coenosteum broad, with the same extend as the corallite diameter, consists of costae and exothecal dissepiments. Budding extracalicinal .

Comparison. Closely related are Preverastrea Beauvais, 1976, and Paracanthogyra Morycowa and Marcopoulou-Diacantoni, 1997. In both genera, septa enter in the corallite space, and long apophysal septa are absent.

Species. Only the type species.