Megerlia eusticta ( Philippi, 1836 )

Bitner, Maria Aleksandra & Moissette, Pierre, 2003, Pliocene brachiopods from north-western Africa, Geodiversitas 25 (3), pp. 463-479 : 474

Megerlia eusticta ( Philippi, 1836) ( Fig. 7 ; Table 7)

Megerlia eusticta – Gaetani & Saccà 1985a: 16, 17, text-fig. 11, pl. 10, figs 1-9; pl. 11, figs 6-12. — Calzada 1997: 31, 32, figs 1-3. — Bitner & Martinell 2001: 182, 183, fig. 4A-K.

MATERIAL EXAMINED. — 19 complete specimens, two ventral valves, and one dorsal valve from Algeria: REMARKS

Megerlia eusticta is the third commonest species in the studied material but was found only in four localities (see Table 1). Limited to the Pliocene of the Mediterranean it was already described from Italy and Spain ( Gaetani & Saccà 1985a; Benigni & Robba 1990; Taddei Ruggiero 1996; Calzada 1997; Bitner & Martinell 2001). Its small, rounded shell, delicate ornamentation of faint striae ( Fig. 7I, J ), short beak truncated by a large foramen make it easily recognisable among Pliocene species. Ficheur (1896a, b, d) noted the genus Megerlia in the Pliocene of Algeria but without specific determination.

This is the first record of this species from Morocco.

Figures

FIG. 7. — Megerlia eusticta (Philippi, 1836); A-H, Oued Zat, Morocco (LP-MNHN B.38317), ventral, dorsal, lateral and anterior views of complete specimens, (H) anterior view slightly oblique; I, J, between Mustapha Aïssat and Bir Mourad Raïs, Algeria (LP-MNHN B.38669), SEM micrograph of ventral view of complete specimen (I) and enlarged fragment (J) to show details of ornamentation. Scale bars: A-H, 1 cm; I, J, 2 mm.