Zittelina massei n. sp., a new dasycladacean alga from the Lower Cretaceous strata of Pădurea Craiului (Apuseni Mountains, Romania)

Ioan I. Bucur (1) , Bruno Granier (2, 3) , Emanoil Sasaran (4)

1 Department of Geology, center of Geological Integrated Studies
2 LDO - Domaines Océaniques
3 Paléontologie, Département des Sciences de la Terre
4 Department of Geology, center of Geological Integrated Studies

A new taxon has been found in the Upper Aptian (Clansayesian)-Albian limestones of Pădurea Craiului (Northern Apuseni Mountains). It is the second representative of the genus Zittelina identified in deposits older than the Cenozoic. This new species differs from Z. hispanica—described from Hauterivian deposits—for its axial cavity is narrower (with proportionally longer laterals and a lower d/D ratio) and the median part of the laterals are fused in verticillar planes. It also shows general features that distinguish it from related taxa in Cenozoic strata.

Keywords: Dasycladales; New species; Lower Cretaceous; Apuseni Mountains; Romania

Domains: Sciences of the Universe [physics]; Earth Sciences; Paleontology

Ioan I. Bucur, Bruno Granier, Emanoil Sasaran. Zittelina massei n. sp., a new dasycladacean alga from the Lower Cretaceous strata of Pădurea Craiului (Apuseni Mountains, Romania). Facies, 2010, 56 (3), pp.445-457. ⟨10.1007/s10347-010-0213-5⟩. ⟨insu-00563228⟩