Ospreyella, LÜTER & WÖRHEIDE & REITNER, 2003

LÜTER, CARSTEN, WÖRHEIDE, GERT & REITNER, JOACHIM, 2003, A new thecideid genus and species (Brachiopoda, Recent) from submarine caves of Osprey Reef (Queensland Plateau, Coral Sea, Australia), Journal of Natural History 37 (12), pp. 1423-1432 : 1425

Ospreyella gen. n.

The following hierarchical classification is in accordance with the actual and revised version of the Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology, part H Brachiopoda (see Baker, in press).

Phylum Brachiopoda Duméril, 1806

Subphylum Rhynchonelliformea Williams et al., 1996

Class Rhynchonellata Williams et al., 1996

Order Thecideida Pajaud, 1970

Suborder Thecideidina Elliott, 1958

Superfamily Thecideoidea Gray, 1840

Family Thecideidae Gray, 1840

Subfamily Lacazellinae Backhaus, 1959

Genus Ospreyella Lüter and Wörheide gen. n.

Type species: Ospreyella depressa Lüter sp. n., present designation.

Etymology. Genus named after the collecting site, Osprey Reef.

Diagnosis. Medium-sized thecideid brachiopod (mean length: 6.2 mm ± 0.51 mm, clearly smaller than Pajaudina , which reaches over 1 cm in length) with short pseudodeltidium and interarea ( figure 2A, B). Calcified and often reticulated floor of median ramus and ramuli missing (present in Lacazella and Pajaudina ) ( figure 2C, D). Minor interbrachial lobes with furcations ( figures 2C, 3 ) ( Lacazella without furcations), central part of lophophore-supporting apparatus raised and free-standing ( figure 2D) (in Lacazella and Pajaudina embedded in raised inner sculpture of the dorsal valve), its architecture slightly resembling that of the fossil species Vermiculothecidea vermicularis (Schlotheim) . For more details see species diagnosis.

Description. See description of Ospreyella depressa Lüter sp. n.

Figures

FIG. 3. Ospreyella depressa sp. n., camera lucida drawings. (A) Dorsal valve of female paratype (QM G318541) showing diagnostic characters, i.e. median depression (dep), furcating minor interbrachial lobes (mil), the trilobed cardinal process (cp) and marsupial notch (mn). (B) Male paratype (ZMB 2004), notice the steep median ramus (mr) and the median jugum (ju), cardinal process slightly damaged during preparation. Scale bars: 1 mm.