Trinocladus tripolitanus Raineri, 1922

Schlagintweit, Felix & Wilmsen, Markus, 2014, Calcareous Algae (Dasycladales, Udoteaceae) From The Cenomanian Altamira Formation Of Northern Cantabria, Spain, Acta Palaeontologica Romaniae 10 (1 - 2), pp. 1-2 : 19

Trinocladus tripolitanus Raineri, 1922

Figs. 3 b-c (pars), 6m-u

*1922 Trinocladus tripolitanus n. gen., n. sp. - Raineri: 79, pl. 3, figs 15-16, Upper Cretaceous of Lybia.

1982 Trinocladus tripolitanus Raineri - Conrad & Peybernès, p. 777, pl. 1, figs. 1-4.

1983 Trinocladus tripolitanus Raineri - Schroeder & Willems, figs. 4.11 and 4.12.

1987 Trinocladus tripolitanus Raineri - Reitner, pl. 33, fig. 4, pl. 44, fig. 2.

Remarks: T. tripolitanus is one of the most common algae observed in the Altamira Formation. Relying on the detailed description of Raineri (1922) and Pia (1936), just a few remarks are given here. First of all, we note the common occurrence of slightly club-shaped thallus fragments ( Figs. 6r, s ), and an occasional occurrence of a secondary widening of the main axis at the levels of the laterals ( Fig. 6r ). In rare cases, the calcareous skeleton around the primaries is more or less completely dissolved given the outline of rounded embayments ( Fig. 6u ). The main axis may be outlined just by a thin calcareous envelope.

According to Reitner (1987, fig. 110, and p. 210), T. tripolitanus is restricted to the reef flat areas, platform sands (shoals) and the open lagoon of the Albian- Cenomanian carbonate platforms of northern Spain. It ranges up to the Santonian–Campanian boundary ( Barattolo, 2002, tab. 2).

Figures

Fig. 3 Microfacies of the Cenomanian algal-bearing carbonates (Altamira Formation) of Cantabria, Spain. a Packstone with benthic foraminifera, e.g., Lenticulina sp. (L), trocholinids (t), and calcareous algae Dissocladella? n. sp. 1 Conrad & Peybernès (D). b-c Wackestone with trocholinids, orbitolinids [Conicorbitolina (C) in c], Trinocladus tripolitanus Raineri (T), Neomeris cf. mokragorensis Radoičić & Schlagintweit (N). Note the oblique section of Coscinoconus indet. showing the complex canal system (arrow). d Reefal rudstone with Spirastrella (Acanthochaetetes) sp. and some trocholinids (circles). Thin-sections: S 180 (a), Co 35 (b), Co 41 (c), AM 2 (d). Scale bars 1.0 mm.

Fig. 6 Dasycladalean algae from the Cenomanian of Cantabria, Spain. a-i Dissocladella bonardii Radoičić, Conrad & Carras, 2005. j-l Neomeris cf. mokragorensis Radoičić & Schlagintweit, 2007. m-u Trinocladus tripolitanus Raineri. v Trinocladus sp. ma = main axis, 1-3 = orders of laterals. Thin-sections: LR 198 (a), HG 5 (b), S 176 (c), S 178 (d-j), Co 41 (k, o, r, u), S 133 (l), LR 110 (m, t), Co 33 (n, q, s), Co 37 (p, v).