Moncharmontia compressa ( De Castro, 1966 )

Moncharmontia compressa ( De Castro, 1966) View in CoL

Figure 11 View Fig

T 1966 Neoendothyra apenninica compressa De Castro , p. 20, pl. III, figs. 4-8; Turonian-Senonian, Italy.

1967 Moncharmontia compressa De Castro nom. nov., p. 475.

1970 Moncharmontia apenninica compressa – Fleury, pl. 2, figs. 2-3; Senonian, Greece.

? 1972 Moncharmontia apenninica compressa – Bignot, pl. 16, figs. 6-8; Senonian, Croatia [= Fleuryana adriatica De Castro et al. fide De Castro et al., 1994 ].

? 1978 Moncharmontia (?) cf. apenninica compressa – Berthou & Schroeder, pl. 9, fig. 2; late Albian, Portugal [hard to determine if this is Moncharmontia in the random sections presented].

1982 Montcharmontia apenninica compressa (sic) - Altıner & Decrouez, pl. 7, fig. 8; Senonian, Turkish Taurides.

1985 Moncharmontia apenninica – Bilotte, p. 369, pl. 15, fig. 9; late Santonian, Pyrenees.

1994 Moncharmontia compressa – Chiocchini et al., pl. 23, figs. 2-3, 10; early Senonian, central Italy.

2001 Moncharmontia compressa – Cvetko Tešović et al., fig. 7(N); Coniacian-Campanian, Croatia.

2006 Moncharmontia compressa – Taslı et al., fig. 7(JK); Coniacian-Santonian, Türkiye.

2006 Moncharmontia apenninica – Sari, pl. 6.3, figs. 4?, 5, 6?; late Cenomanian – Turonian; Turkish Taurides [late Cenomanian age judged as plausible].

2008 Moncharmontia apenninica – Schlüter, fig. 2.3k; Campanian, southern Italy.

2008 Moncharmontia apenninica – Schlüter et al., fig. 3k; Campanian, southern Italy.

2009 Moncharmontia apenninica - compressa – Sari et al., pl. 4, figs. 4-?5; Turonian-Coniacian, Turkish Taurides.

2011 Moncharmontia compressa – Jez et al., fig. 7g; Coniacian-Santonian, Slovenia.

? 2012 Moncharmontia cf. compressa – Korbar et al., fig. 5M, Turonian, Croatia [age partly based on presence of M. compressa ].

? 2012 Moncharmontia apenninica – Ghanem et al., fig. 6d (11, 19); early Cenomanian, Syria.

? 2017 Moncharmontia (?) sp. – Solak et al., fig. 8(M-N); middle – late Cenomanian, Turkish Taurides [or = Biconcava bentori ].

? 2020 Fleuryana adriatica De Castro et al. 1994 – Solak et al., fig. 14(A-E); Turonian, Turkish Taurides.

2021 Moncharmontia compressa – Sinanoğlu, pl. 1, fig. 9; Maastrichtian, Türkiye.

2023 Moncharmontia compressa – Simmons & Bidgood, p. 77, fig. 27; early Cenomanian?-Maastrichtian, global review.

Reference Images: Taslı et al. (2006) fig. 7(J-K).

Taxonomy/Identity: A smaller and more laterallycompressed Moncharmontia species compared with M. apenninica and with only a single row of apertural openings. Cvetko Tešović et al. (2001) have provided a comprehensive biometric analysis between the two species, although in random thin-sections separation is difficult and there are forms that appear intermediate between the two.

It is very similar to the genus Fleuryana , especially F. adriatica De Castro , which has a single aperture, rather than multiple apertural openings. Records of F. adriatica from the Turonian of Türkiye by Solak et al. (2020), are virtually indistinguishable from M. compressa . F. adriatica is also long-ranging and further work is needed to establish the degree of separation of these two taxa. Differences are discussed by Solak & Taslı (2024).

Simmons & Bidgood (2023) further discuss the differences between the two Moncharmontia species and between them and their two Fleuryana counterparts.

Confident Stratigraphic Range: Turonian – Maastrichtian (scarce in the Maastrichtian).

Uncertain Stratigraphic Range: late Cenomanian.

Commonly regarded as Turonian and younger (e.g., Chiocchini & Mancinelli, 1977). Most plausible, illustrated records of M. compressa are from Turonian and younger (up to Maastrichtian) strata. Cenomanian records are either poorly/equivocally illustrated or not illustrated at all, with the possible exception of that by Sari (2006). The late Albian record of Berthou & Schroeder (1978) is very doubtful, as is the early Cenomanian record of Ghanem et al. (2012). A possible middle – late Cenomanian record ( Solak et al., 2017) as “ Moncharmontia (?) sp.” is unconfirmed. Unillustrated records from the Cenomanian include those from the Natih Formation of Oman by Piuz & Meister (2013) and Piuz et al. (2014).

Geographic Distribution: This species is known from the Mediterranean region ( Italy, Adriatic, Türkiye, Pyrenees) in the post-Cenomanian (although not the Arabian Plate?). In the Cenomanian records are doubtful, but the most probable is from the Turkish Taurides.