Sulcichnus sigillum Martinell and Domènech, 2009

Gaaloul, Nadia, Uchman, Alfred, Ali, Syrine Ben, Janiszewska, Katarzyna, Stolarski, Jarosław, Kołodziej, Bogusław & Riahi, Sami, 2023, In vivo and post-mortem bioerosion traces in solitary corals from the upper Pliocene deposits of Tunisia, Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 68 (4), pp. 659-681 : 672-674

Sulcichnus sigillum Martinell and Domènech, 2009

Fig. 13 .

Material.—INGUJ265P167, 170, 173, 175, 179, 190, 191; semicircular grooves, perpendicular to the axis of coralla;

El Melah stream section, the upper part of the Argiles de Sidi Barka Formation (upper Pliocene) of Tunisia.

Diagnosis. —Shallow groove parallel to the columella and bending 90° close to the calyx, to form a deeper, ring-shaped groove (cited from Martinell and Domènech 2009).

Description.— Sulcichnus sigillum Martinell and Domènech, 2009 , is a semi-circular furrow, 1.5 mm wide, running around three-quarters of the perimeter of corallum, perpendicularly to its axis, with an abrupt turn up.

Remarks.—The specimens studied show the typical morphology of Sulcichnus sigillum .

Stratigraphic and geographic range.—Since the early Pliocene worldwide ( Martinell and Domènech 2009; Spadini 2019).

Figures

Fig. 13. Sulcichnus sigillum Martinell and Domènech, 2009, a fixichnion produced by commensal polychaetes in the skeleton of caryophylliid coral Ceratotrochus (Edwardsotrochus) duodecimcostatus (Goldfuss, 1826), from the El Melah stream section, the upper part of the Argiles de Sidi Barka Formation (upper Pliocene) of Tunisia. A. INGUJ265P173. B. INGUJ265P170 in different side views (B1, B2). C. INGUJ265P175 in different side views (C1, C2). Abbreviation: Me, Maeandropolydora elegans.