A new name for a classic Cambrian Swedish brachiopod, Tallatella undosa (Moberg)

Abstract

The brachiopod originally described as Kuturgina undosa Moberg, 1892 from the early Cambrian (Cambrian Series 2, Stage 4) När Shale of Kalmarsund, Sweden, has experienced a long and turbulent history since the original description over 100 years ago. Uncertainties regarding key morphological characters have resulted in the species taxonomically hopping between genera until it was recently assigned to the poorly known genus Cryptotreta Pelman, 1977 and subsequently transferred to the problematic paterinate family Cryptotretidae. Despite members of this group representing the oldest brachiopods in the fossil record, they remain enigmatic, both taxonomically and phylogenetically. The identification of the brachiopod species from the När Shale as a cryptotretid means that this brachiopod was the first member of the family to be discovered, yet its systematic position is far from certain. Examination of type material in addition to supplementary material acquired from the Skäggenäs Peninsula, Sweden, has elucidated many of the previous ambiguous morphological characteristics of the species. The new morphological information acquired here has resulted in the erection of a new paterinate genus, Tallatella gen. nov., to accommodate the Swedish material previously described as Cryptotreta undosa.