Montlivaltia Lamouroux, 1821

Montlivaltia Lamouroux, 1821 View in CoL

Type species Montlivaltia caryophyllata Lamouroux, 1821 View in CoL

Remarks Te specimen MNHN A32924, marked as syntype of the type species, barely compares to the illustration in Lamouroux (1821) and it is questionable whether it belongs to the original type series. Te genus Montlivaltia is conceptual and is generally applied in the sense of Gill and Lafuste (1971).

Montlivaltia icaunensis Orbigny, 1850

Fig. 6 5–6 View Fig View Fig

* v 1850 Montlivaltia icaunensis : Orbigny, (2), p. 90

v 1863 Montlivaultia Icaunensis : Fromentel, p. 315, Pl. 42, Fig. 2, 2 a-b, Pl. 78, Fig. 3, 3 a View Fig , Pl. 81, Fig. 1, 1 a View Fig , 2, 2 a

vp 1889 Montlivaltia multiformis nov. spec.: Toula, p. 87, Pl. 6, Fig. 8 View Fig

v 1946 Montlivaltia burckhardti Wells , n.sp.: Wells, p. 5, Pl. 2, Fig. 7 View Fig -14

v 2003 Montlivaltia sp. : Baron-Szabo, Hamedani & Senowbari-Daryan, p. 204, Pl. 36, Fig. 8 View Fig , Pl. 39, Fig. 6 View Fig

Material FPJ 440; 1 thin section.

Dimensions (FPJ 440).

c 29 × 31.8 mm.

septa 96.

Description Solitary turbinate coral. Corallite outline elliptical. Septa compact. Microstructure of septa of large trabeculae. Septa in cross section externally slightly thicker, becoming slightly thinner towards the centre. Symmetry of septa radial and regularly hexameral. Cycles of septa regular. Septal cycles differ in length and thickness. Tree septal cycles extend to the corallite centre, later cycles are shorter and thinner. Septa not connected to each other. Septal distal margin unknown, lateral face with vertical keels. Te inner margin of the septa of the first two cycles is swollen. Pali absent. Costae present. Synapticulae absent. Columella absent. Endotheca consists of dissepiments. Wall absent. A very thin epitheca is present.

Remarks Te genus Montlivaltia is one of the most species-rich genera in the Jurassic and Cretaceous with 224 species in the Jurassic and 74 in the Cretaceous ( Lathuilière, 1989; Löser, 2000). It seemed to be always easier to establish a new species in place to compare own material to the vast number of existing taxa ( Lathuilière, 1988). A correct taxonomic comparison is therefore difficult and must restrict to species where the type material was available for study. Te present specimen compares well to the two syntypes of Montlivaltia icaunensis . Similar septal counts have also Montlivaltia cavali Achiardi, 1880 , Montlivaltia coaluilensis Wells, 1946 but both differ in the dimensions of the corallite: Montlivaltia cavali has a much smaller diameter and Montlivaltia coaluilensis has a much larger corallite diameter.

Other material FLH 4452 (Kimmeridgian of Germany, Bayern, Saal an der Donau), UPV 220303 (Lower Albian of Spain, Cantabria, Cala de Islares).

Other occurrence. Kimmeridgian of the European Boreal ( Germany), lower Hauterivian of the Western Atlantic ( Mexico) and the European Boreal ( France), Barremian of the Central Tethys ( Bulgaria), Upper Aptian to Albian of the Eastern Tethys ( Iran), Lower Albian of the Western Tethys ( Spain).