Discospirina (Miliolina, Foraminiferida) from the Coral Sea off northeastern Australia: a new record

Abstract

Discospirina is a milioline genus previously recorded as fossil only from the Miocene to Pleistocene of the Mediterranean, and is found living in the same area and into the North Atlantic Ocean (Adams, 1959, 1967, 1973; Adams etal., 1983; Radford, 1976). It is readily recognized by its large, fragile, very thin test, with annular chambers surrounding a coiled initial stage; the concentric chambers are subdivided by numerous internal septa that fall short of the anterior wall of each chamber (Adams, 1959). The specimens illustrated by Brady (1884, PI. 65, figs. 6, 7) from the Atlantic Ocean were referred to Discospirina tenuissima by Barker (1960), but Adams (1959) considered this to be a junior synonym for D. italica, giving the species a range from late Miocene to Recent. Adams (1959) noted that there were more septa per annular chamber in the Recent than in the fossil forms from the Mediterranean area, and the Coral Sea forms appear to resemble the Miocene ones in this respect.