Anaticapitula, Dumitrica & Zügel, 2003

Dumitrica, Paulian & Zügel, Peter, 2003, Lower Tithonian mono- and dicyrtid Nassellaria (Radiolaria) from the Solnhofen area (southern Germany), Geodiversitas 25 (1), pp. 5-72 : 52-54

Genus Anaticapitula n. gen.

TYPE SPECIES. — Anaticapitula clauda n. gen., n. sp.

ETYMOLOGY. — From the Latin anas: duck; and capitulus: small head. Feminine gender.

KNOWN RANGE. — Lower Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous. DIAGNOSIS. — Highly ovate dicyrtid test with bladed apical horn and thorax prolonged into a thin-walled terminal tube. Cephalis and thorax continuous externally, without collar stricture. Initial spicule with A, V, D, two L, two l, and a long Ax. Cephalis and thorax with a superimposed network of strong ridges. With or without feet representing external extensions of L and D. Feet, when present, with an outer blade and two lateral blades.

REMARKS

By its general shape and the tubular prolongation of the thorax this genus shows characters in common with the genus Rhopalosyringium Campbell & Clark, 1944 . A comparable axobate was illustrated by De Wever (1982) in the Lower Jurassic species Ovum pertusum De Wever, 1982 . Jacus (?) anatiformis De Wever, 1982, described from the lower Pliensbachian of Turkey, is also almost identical to A. pennata n. gen., n. sp. and, although De Wever (1982) did not mention the presence of Ax in his species, a small light-grey spot opposite to the ventral spine, representing probably a small Ax, is visible in a broken specimen figured by him ( De Wever 1982: pl. 11, fig. 13). Jacus (?) italicus Jud, 1994 described from the Lower Cretaceous ( Jud 1994) has a morphology similar to J.(?) anatiformis and should also be assigned to the genus Anaticapitula n. gen.

From Napora , Anaticapitula n. gen. differs by having a well developed Ax in the initial spicule, thorax continuous with the velum, no crown of spines on the apical horn, and a much larger cephalis.