Internal skeletal structures of the Cenozoic genera Gondwanaria, Lipmanella, and Lithomelissa (Plagiacanthidae, Nassellaria) and their taxonomy

Osaka City University, Department of Geosciences, Osaka, Japan

Internal skeletal structure of Nassellaria, Radiolaria forms during the early stages of ontogeny and is used as one of the main criteria of suprageneric classification. Its detailed knowledge represents also the structural basis of taxonomy of some genera. In order to use it properly a new descriptive terminology of the internal skeletal structure is developed for some large-cephalis bearing nassellarians. Eight Cenozoic to recent nassellarians assigned to three genera, Gondwanaria, Lipmanella and Lithomelissa including four new species, are described using this new terminology. Furthermore, on the basis of initial skeletal structure, the author clarifies the suprageneric taxonomy of genera, Gondwanaria Petrushevskaya and Lipmanella Loeblich and Tappan.

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