Quinqueloculina

Mamo, Briony L., 2016, Benthic Foraminifera from the Capricorn Group, Great Barrier Reef, Australia, Zootaxa 4215 (1), pp. 1-123 : 49

Quinqueloculina sp. 3 ( Fig. 11 :1, 2)

Description. Test elongate with Quinqueloculina - type coiling, approximately twice as long as wide; oval crosssection. Slightly inflated chambers with distinct, straight, depressed sutures. Rough test wall with patchy, discontinuous, usually weak to moderately defined longitudinal costae extending length of test. Distinct sutures depressed, straight. Aboral end rounded, slightly produced. Aperture terminal, slightly produced, circular with thin peristomal lip; short, bifid, T-shaped tooth.

Remarks. This species has a combination of common morphological features that are often observed as part of the intraspecific variation displayed by other Quinqueloculina species. This species is distinguished from other Quinqueloculina by its elongated test, sporadic longitundal costae, straight sutures and circular aperture with a slight lip and bifid dentition ( Fig. 11 :1, 2). However, many other species share similarities with Quinqueloculina sp. 3, but there are always fundamental differences. The greatest similarity to Quinqueloculina sp. 3 is shown by Quinqueloculina sp. 2. The general descriptions are extremely similar, but the aboral end of Quinqueloculina sp. 2 is more pronounced, the chambers are more inflated, the test is stouter, the costae are more irregular and the aperture, whilst similar in shape and dentition, is much larger in proportion to the rest of the test. These similarities may indicate conspecificity, but the low abundance of both taxa makes it difficult to be confident and so both taxa have been left in open nomenclature until additional material is available.

Distribution within study area. Quinqueloculina sp. 3 was mainly collected from lagoons of the CG. Abundance was normally low in transect samples and this species was absent from Sykes Reef. Greatest abundance was found at site 42 on Heron Reef flat and sites 25 and 52 in One Tree Lagoon 1 and 2, respectively.

Figures

FIGURE 11. (Unless otherwise specified all scale bars = 100 µm). 1 – 2. Quinqueloculina sp. 3, QM # G 465918 from WL 1. 1. Lateral view. 2. Oral view. 3 – 5. Quinqueloculina sp. 4, QM # G 465831 from OTI 39. 3. Lateral view. 4. Oral view. 5. Peripheral view. 6 – 7. Quinqueloculina sp. 5, QM # G 465782 from ST / HW 2. 6. Lateral view, scale bar = 200 µm. 7. Oral view, scale bar = 200 µm. 8 – 9. Quinqueloculina sp. 6, QM # G 465910 from T 3 – 2. 8. Lateral view. 9. Peripheral view. 10 – 11. Quinqueloculina sp. 7, QM # G 465951 from S 8. 10. Lateral view, scale bar = 500 µm. 11. Close-up lateral view, scale bar = 50 µm. 12 – 15. Miliolinella circularis (Bornemann, 1855). 12 – 13. QM # G 465898 from ST / HW 10, lateral (12) and oral (13) views. 14 – 15. QM # G 465980 from OTI 54, lateral (14) and oral (15) views. 16 – 17. Miliolinella sp. 1, QM # G 465944 from OTI 20. 16. Lateral view. 17. Oral view. 18 – 20. Miliolinella sp. 2, QM # G 465901 from ST / HW 10. 18. Lateral view. 19. Lateral view. 20. Oral view.