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Ovalastrea

Orbigny, 1849, p. 10

Type Species

Astrea caryophylloides Goldfuss 1826, p. 66, pl. 22 fig.; Monotypy

Type Specimen: Lectotype; IPB 221; Verified; Dry Preserved

Type Locality: Upper Jurassic Giengen

Goldfuss 1826 did not precise the number of specimens involved in his description. Accordingly the only type specimen preserved in the collection was a syntype up to 1957 when Alloiteau by abusive designation of a holotype (ICZN art 74-6) promoted this specimen to the status of lectotype. It is a silicified sample not sectioned, just polished at a small place.

Classification

Synonyms

Description

Plocoid colony. Small round to large elongated or lobate outlined corallites. Co-occurrence of small round and di-centric clusters suggest the co-occurrence of intra and extracalicular modes of increase. Wall in relief, peritheca depressed. Radial elements are compact (or subcompact ?), straight to curved, costosepta. Rarely contratingent, often joined to the columella, or commonly free for the short septa. Septa with parallel edges. Septal structure probably pennular. Distal edge badly preserved, possibly moniliform. In corallite born by extracalicular increase, the radial symmetry of the septal apparatus is quickly obliterated by the development of the elongated columella and the bilateral symmetry of the calicular platform. Regularly dentate equal costae. Peritheca with confluent or not confluent costae and vesiculous dissepiments in between. Spongy columella. Synapticules present. Wall at least partly septothecal by enlargement of septa.

Comparisons

Ebrayia seems to be a very close genus for which we need to find more numerous well preserved specimens but lacks a really spongy columella. It is also the case for Ovalastreopsis.Ovalastrea has often been confused with Favia whose the septal structure is very different.

Remarks

9 Cretaceous nominal species are cited for Cretaceous (Löser 2002) of which some are common with the 14 nominal species cited in Jurassic.

Distribution

  • Western Europe, Southern Europe, Central Europe, Eastern Europe, North Africa, Subsaharan Africa, Central Asia, South Asia, East Asia, Caribbean, West Asia; Middle Jurassic - Late Cretaceous

This page has been in preparation since 19-Aug-2009 16:19

This version was contributed by Bernard Lathuilière on 17-Sep-2016 08:29.

Page authors are: Ewa Roniewicz Bernard Lathuilière. Please contact the editor if you would like to contribute to the diagnosis of this taxon.

The editor is: Bernard Lathuilière


Lectotype of Ovalastrea caryophylloides, type species of the genus
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Lectotype of Ovalastrea caryophylloides, type species of the genus
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Lectotype of Ovalastrea caryophylloides, type species of the genus
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Lectotype of Ovalastrea caryophylloides, type species of the genus
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