Kloedenellitina spinosa Gurevitch, 1972

Fig. 6B–C

Kloedenellitina spinosa Gurevitch, 1972: 333, pl. 11 figs 3–4.

Kloedenellitina spinosa – Tschigova 1977: 171, pl. 41 fig. 13.

Material examined

CHINA • 1 complete carapace (♀, Fig. 6B); Blue Snake section, Gelaohe Formation, sample 19BAI 60; P6M 3857 • 1 complete carapace (♂, Fig. 6C); Blue Snake section, Gelaohe Formation, sample 19BAI 69; P6M 3858 • 16 complete carapaces; Blue Snake section, Gelaohe Formation, samples 19BAI 60, 19BAI 67–69, 19BAI 74, 19BAI 80. All from the Famennian, late Devonian.

Dimensions

RV: L = 552–783 µm, H = 307–394µm, H/L = 0.48–0.59.

LV: L = 434–761 µm, H = 210–377 µm, H/L = 0.45–0.56.

Remarks

In the genus Kloedenellitina, females have an inflated posterior carapace, which corresponds to a brood pouch (Ellis & Messina 1964). This character allows us to distinguish females (Fig. 6B) from males (Fig. 6C) in the studied material. The lateral surface of the specimens preserving their carapace appears as reticulate (Fig. 6C), it is rather smooth in steinkern but the reticulation remains visible in certain areas (Fig. 6B). Our material is smaller than the type material (L = 760–930 µm, H = 440–490 µm in Gurevitch 1972) with H/L between 0.53 and 0.58 while it is between 0.45 and 0.59 in our material (both valves taken together). The specimen shown in Tschigova (1977: pl. 61 fig. 13) is also larger with L = 1200 mm, H = 556mm but the H/L ratio is similar (H/L = 0.46). In the present material, this species may mainly be represented by juvenile specimens corresponding to at least two different ontogenetic stages that we cannot discriminate because of the wide distribution of their dimensions.

Occurrence

Torchinsk Formation,Volyn region, Russian platform,Tournaisian, early Carboniferous(Gurevitch 1972). Lebedyan horizon, Torchinsk Formation, Central regions of the Russian platform, Famennian, late Devonian (Tschigova 1977). Samples 19BAI 60, 19BAI 67–69, 19BAI 74, 19BAI 80, Gelaohe Formation, Blue Snake section, Famennian, late Devonian (this work).