Texastrea
Wells, 1973
Type Species
Texastrea catenata Wells, 1973; Original Designation Wells, 1973
Type Specimen: Holotype; ; Verified; Unknown
Type Locality: Middle Albian of Texas (Fredericksburg Group, Edwards Limestone), USA.
The holotype of the type species is housed at NMNH (Washington, DC) under I-71265.
Classification
Synonyms
Diagnosis
Like Actinastrea but colony often forms imbricating palisades by extracalicular-lateral budding. Corallites are prismatic and cerioid where clustered.
Description
Colonial, cateniform (stauromatiform) growth-habit. Budding extracalicinal-lateral, producing imbricating palisades of cylindrical corallites closely joined, more or less linearly. Corallites becoming prismatic and cerioid where clustered. Corallite wall septoparathecal. Septa composed of 5 or 6 simple, fused trabeculae inclined inward and upward from the wall. Columella styliform.
Remarks
Texastrea most likely represents a morpho(sub-)genus of Actinastrea. The morphological changes are probably due to high-rate sediment influx and/or parasitic infestation (Baron-Szabo, 2014, p. 20).
Distribution
- North America; Early Cretaceous
This page has been in preparation since 12-Jun-2010 17:02
This version was contributed by Rosemarie Baron-Szabo on 30-Oct-2016 17:32.
Page authors are: Rosemarie Baron-Szabo. Please contact the editor if you would like to contribute to the diagnosis of this taxon.
The editor is: Rosemarie Baron-Szabo
|