Bartensteinites campanulatus nov. gen, nov. sp. - functional morphology of a new foraminiferal genus from the Albian of the Lower Saxony Basin

摘要

The new calcareous foraminiferal species Bartensteinites campanulatus nov. sp. from the Albian is described from the sediments of the Lower Saxony Basin. This taxon is designated as the type species of the new genus Bartensteinites nov. gen. Tyszka. This genus differs from Globorotalites and Conorotalites in having an aperture extended from the umbilicus through periphery to the spiral suture, as well as in possessing flush sutures on all side, from Cibicides in having flush chamber sutures and an extended aperture along the whole conical side up to the umbilicus, and from Carpenteria in lacking a keel along the periphery and having an extended aperture on the spiral side. B. campanulatus is interpreted as a vagile, epibenthic foraminifer with a well adapted test to the facultative sessile mode of life. Functional morphology of conical, planoconvex shapes was best suited for the suspension-feeding strategy, facilitated by temporal attachments to firm substrates. This is also confirmed by a distinct pattern of unusually fossilized pseudopodial tracks well preserved on apertural faces of some specimens.