Barbieri, R. 1997. Taxonomy of the Neogene foraminiferal genus Spiroloxostoma (Buliminacea) and description of a new species from the upper Miocene-Pliocene of Morocco. Revue de Paleobiologie 16: 425-432.

182613

Barbieri, R.

1997

16: 425-432

Publication

The examination of the genus Spiroloxostoma CONATO, 1964 (Buliminacea, Foraminiferida) from the type locality provides evidence for locating the two species there described within a monospecific group of Neogene pustulated-striated forms. This probably also includes the other two known taxa of Spiroloxostoma designated from a different Tethyan locality. Suprageneric distinction established through the internal (toothplate) morphology allow a separation among quasi-homeomorph taxa for which still exists some taxonomic confusion. A costate species, Spiroloxostoma maghrebensis n. sp., is formally described and figured from the late Miocene (Messinian) and early Pliocene of the Moroccan Atlantic coastal plain. The new taxon shows a distinct morphology and surface ornamentation which clearly distinguishes this Atlantic form from its Tethyan counterparts. The small size typical of the genus Spiroloxostoma and its morphologic similarity with other frequently occuring taxa (e.g. Bolivinitidae) seems to be a reason for its underestimation in the fossil record and the consequent limited paleobiogeographic information.

Foraminifera

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