Kozurium Pessagno, 1977

Dumitrica, Paulian, Dieni, Iginio & Massari, Francesco, 2022, Valanginian Radiolarians Of Ne Sardinia (Italy) In The Frame Of The Weissert Event, Acta Palaeontologica Romaniae 18 (2), pp. 97-159 : 120

Genus Kozurium Pessagno, 1977

Type species. Kozurium zingulai Pessagno, 1977 Remarks. When Pessagno erected the genus Kozurium he compared it with Diacanthocapsa Squinabol, 1903 , emend. Dumitrică, 1970. It is true that, externally, it looks rather close to Squinabol’s genus, but this resemblance is quite superficial, not structural. Diacanthocapsa is a tricyrtid with cephalis partly or completely inclosed in a big, external thorax, that represents usually the most important and thickest part of shell, whereas Kozurium has the thorax very small and included in the abdomen and, as noted by Dumitrică (1970) for the Williriedellidae , it forms with the cephalis a unitary body, the cephalothorax, that moves together as an independent body in the relation with the abdomen.

By having a postabdominal chamber, Kozurium is intermediary between Williridellum and Hiscocapsa O’Dogherty. From Williriedellum it has also the sutural pore that gives the shell a bilateral symmetry. This symmetry is much more advanced in Kozurium hindei (Tan, 1927) by the presence of the flat or concave area of the abdominal wall in the vicinity of the cephalothorax.

Range. Late Valanginian to late Cenomanian so far as known.