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Lingulodinium machaerophorum

Lingulodinium machaerophorum (Deflandre and Cookson, 1955) Wall, 1967

Originally Hystrichosphaeridium, subsequently Baltisphaeridium, thirdly (and now) Lingulodinium. See also Cleistosphaeridium (combination not validly published).
Tax. sr. synonym of Cleistosphaeridium disjunctum Davey et al., 1966, according to Reid, 1974.
Tax. sr. synonym of Cleistosphaeridium mikirii Mehrotra, 1981, according to Jain and Garg, 1983.
Tax. sr. synonym of Hystrichosphaeridium redonense Morzadec-Kerfourn, 1966, according to Harland, 1977.
Tax. sr. synonym of Hystrichosphaeridium ashdodense Rossignol, 1962, according to Wall, 1967.
Possible tax. sr. synonym of Lingulodinium? pycnospinosum (Benedek, 1972) Stover and Evitt, 1978, according to Stover and Evitt, 1978.Benedek and Sarjeant, 1981, retained Lingulodinium pycnospinosum as a separate species.
Wall and Dale, 1968, and Matsuoka, 1985, considered this species to represent the encysted stage of Gonyaulax (now Lingulodinium) polyedra Stein, 1883.
Holotype: Deflandre and Cookson, 1955, pl.9, fig.4
Locus typicus: Balcombe Bay, Victoria, Australia
Stratum typicum: Miocene

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G.L. Williams short notes on species, Mesozoic-Cenozoic dinocyst course, Urbino, Italy, May 17-22, 1999 - LPP VIEWER CD-ROM 99.5.

Lingulodinium machaerophorum (Deflandre and Cookson, 1955) Wall, 1967. Cribroperidinioid and the cyst equivalent of the thecate Gonyaulax polyhedra. According to Deflandre and Cookson (1955), L.machaerophorum has a subspherical to ellipsoidal central body with numerous long, stiff, conical, pointed processes resembling the blade of a daggar. Surface granulate or punctate. Size: diameter of central body 41-54 µm, process length 13-18 µm, overall 64-74 µm.
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Original description: Deflandre and Cookson, 1955, p. 274: Hystrichosphaeridium machaerophorum
Shell globular, subsphaerical or ellipsoidal with a rigid membrane, more brittle than deformable, covered with numerous long, stiff, conical, pointed processes resembling the blade of a dagger. Surface of shell granular or punctate.
Dimensions: Diameter of shell 41-54 µm, length of spines 13-18 µm, overall diameter, 64-74 µm.
The figured type represents an average form as regards the number of processes and their density. Examples with more widely spaced processes are rare; on the contrary specimens with morenumerous and more densely arranged spines are relatively frequent. Generally most of the spines are stiff but sometimes they are somewhat flexible and recurved. The apices are very sharpely pointed abnd often twisted in specimens mounted in Canada balsam.

Supplemental description: Wall, 1967, p. 109
The test is spherical but rarely found whole. Upon dehiscence it develops a large compound precingular archeopyle, so all that remains of the epitheca is a narrow, elongated, angular projection, attached to the hypotheca ventrally. The archeopyle, in its most entire form, represents the loss of five precingular plate-areas (1'' to 5'') but it may represent only four plates (2'' to 5'') or very rarely, only the dorsal precingular plate 3'', The test is microgranular and bears numerous (15 to 20 in optical section), flexuous, hollow spines of variable length. Their bases are circular and minutely striated; their distal extremities are flexuous, closed, and bear spinules. There is a tendency towards flattening of the spines. Size. Test 36 to 50 µm.
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