Scandonea? pumila Saint-Marc, 1974b

SIMMONS, MICHAEL & BIDGOOD, MICHAEL, 2023, “ Larger ” Benthic Foraminifera Of The Cenomanian. A Review Of The Identity And The Stratigraphic And Palaeogeographic Distribution Of Non-Fusiform Planispiral (Or Near-Planispiral) Forms, Acta Palaeontologica Romaniae 19 (2), pp. 39-169 : 133-135

Scandonea? pumila Saint-Marc, 1974b

Reference Illustration & Description

Saint-Marc (1974b), Pl. 2 (16-18), p. 70-71.

The type and subsequent description of the species by Saint-Marc (1974b, from the upper Cenomanian of Lebanon) is comprehensive and allows for confident identification .

S.? pumila differs from S.? phoenissa by its more globular shape and the absence of an umbilical depression; the greater thickness of the test wall; the absence of an unrolled stage (this character is not decisive however due to the insufficient number of sections studied and illustrated by Saint-Marc, 1974b); the reduced number of chambers in the planispiral stage; the reduced chamber height in the planispiral stage. See the Species Key Chart (Appendix) for diagnostic and other characteristics.

S.? pumila has a test shape similar to the globular/subglobular test of the agglutinated species Fleuryana gediki , but has a much thicker wall, fewer chambers, and less rectangular-shaped chambers (in equatorial view) than F. gediki .

S.? pumila also bears a resemblance to microspheric forms of S. samnitica but is smaller; has no basal layer, and no tooth at the base of the aperture. As for S.? phoenissa , these differences are sufficient to make the assignment to the genus questionable, and this rarely described species requires a full taxonomic review that is outside the scope of this primarily biostratigraphic study.

S.? pumila is a poorly known species and the possibility exists that the type material is synonymous with species of Pseudorhapydionina (as partial, incomplete specimens) – compare, for example, with the illustrations of P. dubia herein. More work is required to confirm this suspicion (Dr. Lorenzo Consorti, pers. comm., 2023), so, for the moment, S.? pumila is retained as a separate species.

Stratigraphic Distribution

(Latest Albian?) middle - late Cenomanian.

Not a widely recorded species, Saint-Marc (1974b) originally described this species from Lebanon, in association with Pseudorhapydionina laurinensis , Chrysalidina gradata , Praetaberina bingistani , Biplanata peneropliformis ,, Biconcava bentori and a number of other Cenomanian LBF. Although assigned a late Cenomanian age by Saint-Marc (1974b), a late middle Cenomanian age cannot be discounted for this assemblage based on our review herein.

Charrière et al. (1998) recorded and illustrated plausible specimens from several localities dated as late Cenomanian (age calibrated by ammonite occurrences) in the Atlas of Morocco. Ciszak et al. (1999) and Ettachfini (2006) also provides records (but unillustrated) from the late Cenomanian of Morocco.

Velić & Vlahović (1994) recorded and illustrated rare occurrences from a single sample in the lowermost CEN-4 zone of the middle Cenomanian (approximately at the mid point of the middle Cenomanian interval). Velić (2007) recorded it (unillustrated) from the latest Albian – middle Cenomanian of Croatia. Likewise, Husinec et al. (2009) recorded (unillustrated) a bimodal range for this species in the latest Albian and separately in the lower middle Cenomanian of Croatia.

Solak et al. (2021) record a “cf” form from the Albian of central Turkey, however, their illustrations do not quite conform to the Saint-Marc types and no axial views are shown .

Cenomanian Paleogeographic Distribution

Neotethys.

Not widely recorded except from those references mentioned above (i.e., confirmed by illustration in Lebanon, Morocco, and Croatia).