Laffonia Heer, 1877

Ichnogenus Laffonia Heer, 1877 ( = Pseudocaudina Broili, 1926 )

Diagnosis. A fusiform egg capsule with an elongated pedicle. Te capsule is divided into dorsal and ventral sides by narrow lateral striated flanges. Te dorsal and lateral surfaces of the body are ornamented with possibly up to nine longitudinal ribs.

Occurrence. Most likely upper Oxfordian, Late Jurassic. Te specimen was most likely from the Küssaberg Member of the Villigen Formation, Bimammatum zone.

Holotype. PIMUZ 5272 View Materials , a three-dimensional and incomplete internal mould preserved in a yellowish white limestone, missing the inferred anterior end of the beak and the distal end of the pedicle.

Other material. Pseudocaudina (see the holotype in Broili, 1926 and specimen JME SOS 4372 in Reich , 2015) .

Remarks

Laffonia Heer, 1877 , highly resembles Pseudocaudina Broili, 1926 , in having a fusiform body that is ornamented with several longitudinal ribs, although the latter is intensely compacted into a flat impression ( Broili, 1926). In both taxa, the inferred posterior body end tapers to a narrow tail-like appendage (i.e. pedicle), while the anterior end of the capsule is broken. Pseudocaudina was found with half a dozen specimens (Reich, 2015) in Tithonian platy limestones (lithographic limestone) of the Upper Jurassic ( Broili, 1926) of the Langenaltheim, Eichstätt and Solnhofen region. Tus, it is slightly younger than the only known Laffonia specimen. Considering the similarities in body shape, size, and morphological characters (e.g. longitudinal ribs), the small age difference (less than 10 My) and geographical proximity to each other, identifying Pseudocaudina as a junior synonym for Laffonia (Reich, 2015; Ziegler, 1991) is justified.