Cornutheca, Anush Kosakyan, Daniel J. G. Lahr, Matthieu Mulot, Ralf Meisterfeld, Edward A. D. Mitchell & Enrique Lara, 2016

Anush Kosakyan, Daniel J. G. Lahr, Matthieu Mulot, Ralf Meisterfeld, Edward A. D. Mitchell & Enrique Lara, 2016, Phylogenetic reconstruction based on COI reshuffles the taxonomy of hyalosphenid shelled (testate) amoebae and reveals the convoluted evolution of shell plate shapes, Cladistics 32, pp. 606-623 : 622

Cornutheca gen. nov. Kosakyan, Lahr, Mulot, Meisterfeld, Mitchell and Lara

Description. Test elongated-pyriform, with a distinct neck, lateral margins tapering towards the aperture. Two lateral horns, pointing towards the posterior part of the test, either free or connected to the main part of the test by a lateral keel surrounding the posterior part of the test. Test hyaline or slightly yellowish, composed of circular to elongated shell plates probably recycled from euglyphid testate amoeba prey.

Differential diagnosis. Members of this genus differ from other hyalospheniid genera in the presence of two lateral horns.

Type species. Cornutheca ansata ( Leidy, 1879) Kosakyan, Lahr, Mulot, Meisterfeld, Mitchell and Lara comb. nov.

Included taxa. We include in this genus all Nebela taxa bearing two lateral horns, such as N. ansata , N. saccifera and N. hippocrepis .

Etymology. The name of the genus derives from the Latin words “cornus” and “theca”, meaning horns and shell, the traits that are characteristic for the members of the genus.