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Woodinia

From Fensome et al., 2019:

Riding and Helby, 2001d, p.97,99.
Taxonomic junior synonym: Taltarnia, by implication in Riding and Helby (2001e, p.133), who included the only citation of this generic name, as "Taltarnia spp", in synonymy with Woodinia bensonii.
Type: Riding and Helby, 2001d, figs.19K–M, as Woodinia pedis.

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Original description: [Riding and Helby, 2001d]:

Diagnosis:
Small, proximate, acavate, elongate, flask-shaped dinoflagellate cysts which are normally dorsoventrally flattened. Outline varies from rounded, subrectangular to subtriangular. The widest part of the cyst is normally the antapex and the antapical lateral areas are typically extended into lobes or protuberances. Intratabular areas of differentiated autophragm or discrete, less dense, low relief ornamentation may be developed on the apical, precingular, postcingular and antapical paraplate series. Elsewhere the autophragm may be microgranulate, granulate, microreticulate, scabrate or smooth. The intratabular ornamentation, where developed, suggests a gonyaulacalean paratabulation; the formula being X', 6", Xc, 6"', 2"", Xs. The postdingular paraplates are markedly elongate. Paracingulum undivided and located high on the cyst, may be prominent and indented.
Archaeopyle apical; operculum simple, attached or fee.

Remarks:
The two lateral antapical lobes developed in this genus are considered to probably represent paired antapical paraplates. This suggests a relationship to Microdinium Cookson & Eisenack 1960 and other partiform genera but this cannot be demonstrated unequivocally.

Affinities:
Woodinia gen. nov. resembles Dissimulidinum May et al. 1987 in shape, particularly in the presence of prominent paired antapical lobes (May et al., 1987, figs 2-4). However, dissumulidinium is significantly larger than Woodinia, is laterally compressed, proximochorate and has nontabular, penitabular and possibly parasultural ornamentation. Similarly, Woodinia also resembles the latest Jurassic-Early Creatceous restricted marine genus Tertrachacysta Blackhouse 1988. The latter is, by contrast, a quadrilobate form with a pair of lateral protuberances on both the epicyst and hypocyst (Blackhouse 1988, fig. 32). The type material of Kylindrocysta Fenton et al. 1980 is, like Woodinia, a flask-shaped Jurassic genus, but is parallel-sided and lacks indications of paratabulation aside of the archaeopyle (Stover & Williams, 1987, fig. 49). Other flask-like or egg-shaped Jurassic dinoflagellate cyst genera with apical archaeopyles such as Lanterna Dodekova 1969, and Meiourongonyaulax Sarjeant 1966 differ from Woodinia in having sexiform gonyaulacalean paratabulation patterns. Stenopyxinium Deflandre 1968 has spinose antapical protrusions and possibly an epicystal archaeopyle, but otherwise is similar in overall shape to Woodinia, but normally have anterior intercalary archaeopyles and most are significantly less elongate. These include Mikrocysta Bjaerke 1980, Parvocysta Bjaerke 1980 and Susadinium Dörhöfer & Davies1980. The closely related genus Phallocysta Dörhöfer & Davies 1980 is, like Woodinia flask-shaped and antapically wide, tapering toward the apex. Phallocysta, however, has an interior intercalary archaeopyle and is epicavate (Riding, 1984).
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