Valloria

Vidal, 1874, p. 38

Valloria Vidal, 1874, p. 38 is a nomen dubium (unavailable).

Type Species

Valloria egozcuei Vidal, 1874: 38; Original Designation Vidal, 1874: 38

Type Specimen: Holotype; ; Not Traced; Unknown

Type Locality: Maastrichtian of Spain (Isona, La Posa, Lerida).

Type material is lost.

Diagnosis

According to Vidal (1874, p. 39, pl. 7, figs. 44–44b), Valloria is “a meandroid colony with ramified calicinal series which forms a massive, compressed or sometimes subhemispherical colony. Calicinal series are separated by flat, plateau-like ambulacra which have a width of 2 to 3 mm. Calicinal series are long, very wavy, forked, and narrow (1 mm wide), their edges are nearly sharp. Calicinal series are half a millimeter deep. Septa irregularly alternate; there are 66 septa in 10 mm. Columella lamellar, which cannot always be observed. When it is visible, it appears to be connected to the axial ends of septa. Axial ends of septa are cuneiform or swollen”.

Remarks

The systematic position of the genus Valloria has long been discussed (Vaughan and Wells, 1943; Wells, 1956; Alloiteau, 1957; Baron-Szabo, 2002 and 2008; and others). According to Vaughan and Wells (1943), it is a junior synonym of Dictuophyllia, Wells (1956) placed it under ‘genera of uncertain systematic position’, Alloiteau (1957) grouped it with the family Siderastreidae, and, based on the information provided by Bataller (1937a) and Alloiteau (1957), Baron-Szabo (2002, 2008) placed it in the Agariciidae. Recently, Löser (2013c) carried out a study on the genus Valloria Vidal. According to him, the type specimen is lost and there is no other specimen either belonging to type or original material. Therefore, he described a specimen from the type locality. This specimen, however, may or may not correspond to the original material by Vidal (1874). The material Löser described is similar to the genus Valloria as presented in the original description by Vidal (1874, p. 39, pl. 7, figs. 44–44b) but it could also represent a junior synonym of the genus Cycloria Reuss. At the same time, however, it could not be ruled out that it belonged to other genera like, e.g., Dictuophyllia Blainville, 1830, as the documentation by Vidal is inconclusive regarding, e.g., thecal features like the presence or absence of an exotheca. Furthermore, because Vidal (1874, p. 39) himself stated that his genus belonged to the symphylliids, puts the genus-group assignment of Valloria even further into uncertainty as the symphylliid-group used to be placed in the Mussidae but has now been transferred to the recently established family Lobophylliidae Dai and Horng, 2009 (also see Budd et al., 2012). Because no original material is available to clarify the systematic position of Valloria, it is considered a questionable genus (see Baron-Szabo, 2014, p. 87).

Distribution

• Southern Europe; Late Cretaceous

This page has been in preparation since 02-Jun-2007 12:36

This version was contributed by Rosemarie Baron-Szabo on 24-Dec-2014 20:08.

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