RHIZOSPHAEROIDEA Haeckel, 1882

Suzuki, Noritoshi, Caulet, Jean-Pierre & Dumitrica, Paulian, 2021, A new integrated morpho- and molecular systematic classification of Cenozoic radiolarians (Class Polycystinea) - suprageneric taxonomy and logical nomenclatorial acts, Geodiversitas 43 (15), pp. 405-573 : 461

Superfamily RHIZOSPHAEROIDEA Haeckel, 1882 n. stat.

Rhizosphaerida Haeckel, 1882: 455 [as a tribe].

Anaxoplastidiés [pars] Hollande & Enjumet, 1960: 22-23, 30-31, 69, 112-113 (= Macrosphaeridae + Centrocubidae ). — Cachon & Cachon 1972c: 297-300.

Périaxoplastidiés [pars] Hollande & Enjumet, 1960: 20-22, 25-30, 48, 68, 85 (= Cenosphaeridae + Stigmophaeridae + Excentroconchidae + Heliasteridae ). — Cachon & Cachon 1972c: 293-297.

Cryptoaxoplastidés Cachon & Cachon, 1972c: 303-305.

Periaxoplastidies [pars] Anderson, 1983: 49.

Cryptoaxoplastida Cachon & Cachon, 1985: 286 [as an order].

Periaxoplastida [pars] – Cachon & Cachon 1985: 288.

Cryptoaxoplastidiata – Cachon et al. 1989: 341.

Periaxoplastidiata [pars] – Cachon et al. 1989: 341.

Capsulata Afanasieva & Amon in Afanasieva, Amon, Agarkov & Boltovskoy, 2005: S278 [as an order of Class Spumellaria ] (= Centrocubidae + Quinquecapsulariidae + Rhizosphaeridae ). — Afanasieva & Amon 2006: 116 [as an order].

DIAGNOSIS. — Spherical entactinarians with a cortical and a single or double medullary shell. First medullary shell ovoid, or spherical, with spicule ectopically placed in its wall. Spicule with a median bar, two apical spines and four basal spines. All spines well developed, radially prolonged to the cortical shell, or short, prolonged only to the second medullary shell, or even shorter.

REMARKS This superfamily was established in order to separate the Rhizosphaeridae from the Centrocuboidea at superfamily level. The central structure is more similar to that of the Heliosaturnaloidea , rather than that of the Centrocuboidea and Centrolonchoidea , when accounting for the presence of a “microbursa-like” central structure ( Dumitrica et al. 2010: 285). Afanasieva et al. (2005) proposed an Order “ Capsulata ” to include the families Centrocubidae , Quinquecapsulariidae and Rhizosphaeridae . Unfortunately, their rank concept is unacceptable when considering higher rank consistency in Eukaryotes compiled by Adl et al. (2019).