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Compositosphaeridium bahamaense

Compositosphoeridium? bahamaensis, Masure, 1988

Masure, 1988, questionably included this species in Compositosphaeridium.

Holotype: Masure, 1988, pl.2, figs.1A-C
Locus typicus: Hole 627B, Leg 101, offshore Bahamas
Stratum typicum: Cenomanian

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Original description: [Masure, 1988, p.129]:

Diagnosis:
Proximochorate two-layered dinoflagellate cyst with sub spheroidal central body. Smooth endophragm and periphragm appressed between processes.
Periphragm with membranous reticulated ridges on the surface of central body "Polytubular" intratabular processes, whose height is about 30 µm of the endocyst diameter. Gonyaulacoid paratabulation, processes ne present 4 apicals, 6 precingulars, 6 cingulars, X sulcals, 3-6 postcingulars, ?1 posterior intercalary, 1 antapical.
Apical archeopyle, type (4A).

Dimensions:
Holotype: central body diameter, 30 µm length of processes, 6-9 µm; total diameter, 47 µm; 20 specimens measured: central body diameter, 33 (31) 28 µm; length of processes, 12 (9) 6 µm.

Description:
The intratabular processes are "polytubular" and open distally. The number of processes and tubes varies according to the position and size of the paraplates they reenact. The pre- and postcingular processes are larger than the apical and antapical ones. The cingular processes are narrow mono- or polytubular. All processes are joined proximally by membranous reticulate ridges with irregular meshes. The organization of the processes is difficult to observe when the detachment between the endophragm and periphragm is large.

Affinities:
The number of processes is more than one for each paraplate. This does not conform to the diagnosis for the genus. Compositosphaeridium? bahamaensis differs from C. bulgaricum and C. polonirum in having shorter intratabular processes and well-developed reticulate ridges proximally linking the processes on the central body.
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