''Mennerius'' is a genus of
haptophytes belonging to the family
Lapideacassaceae
Lapideacassaceae is a family of haptophytes belonging to the class Prymnesiophyceae. The family Lapideacassaceae accommodate ‘bell-shaped’ to cylindrical nannoliths with body consisting of a single or several vertically elongated calcite ele ...
.
Diagnosis
The genus accommodates ‘bell-shaped’ to cylindrical
nannoliths with their body consisting of one or more tiers of vertically elongated
calcite
Calcite is a Carbonate minerals, carbonate mineral and the most stable Polymorphism (materials science), polymorph of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). It is a very common mineral, particularly as a component of limestone. Calcite defines hardness 3 on ...
plates and a rounded or somewhat pointed apical cone. One or more apical spines are often also present. The cross section of the body is round to polygonal.
Species
*''
M. asymmetricus''
(Perch-Nielsen in Perch-Nielsen & Franz, 1977)
*''
M. bispinosus''
(Perch-Nielsen in Perch-Nielsen & Franz, 1977)
*''
M. blackii''
(Perch-Nielsen in Perch-Nielsen & Franz, 1977)
*''
M. cornutus''
(Forchheimer & Stradner, 1973)
*''
M. glans''
(Black, 1971)
*''
M. longus''
Luljeva, 1967
*''
M. magnificus''
(Perch-Nielsen in Perch-Nielsen & Franz, 1977)
*''
M. mariae''
(Black, 1971)
*''
M. morosus''
Luljeva, 1967
*''
M. tricornus''
(Wind & Wise in Wise & Wind, 1977)
*''
M. trispinus''
(Perch-Nielsen in Perch-Nielsen & Franz, 1977)
*''
M. varius''
(Crux, 1981)
*''
M. wisei''
(Perch-Nielsen in Perch-Nielsen & Franz, 1977)
Distribution
The species of the genus occur sporadically but widely in the uppermost Lower and Upper
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...
and
Palaeogene
The Paleogene ( ; also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene; informally Lower Tertiary or Early Tertiary) is a geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning o ...
sediments in the Northern Hemisphere, South Atlantic,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
,
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
and
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
.
References
Haptophyte genera
{{Haptophyte-stub