6533b854fe1ef96bd12afbf3

RESEARCH PRODUCT

THE DEMOSPONGE GENUS LEPTOMITUS and A NEW SPECIES FROM THE MIDDLE CAMBRIAN OF SPAIN

Juan Bautista Chirivella MartorellRodolfo GozaloEladio LiñánDiego C. García-bellido

subject

Systematicsfood.ingredientbiologyPhylogenetic treeLeptomitusPaleontologyBiostratigraphyTrace fossilbiology.organism_classificationPaleontologySpongefoodDemospongeFaciesEcology Evolution Behavior and Systematics

description

Forty-five specimens of Leptomitus conicus sp. nov. have been collected from the base of the Murero Formation (Caesaraugustan, Middle Cambrian) in the Murero area of Zaragoza, north-east Spain. The new species is a small obconical sponge, which has coarse oxeas forming parallel rods that run the whole length of the specimens in the man- ner typical of the genus. The biostratigraphy and facies of the levels with Leptomitus conicus have been analysed. Palaeoeco- logical information derived from associated trilobites, brachio- pods and ichnofossils shows that L. conicus lived in a soft substrate of a sublittoral environment of low to low ⁄ moderate energy. According to established Cambrian palaeogeographical reconstructions, a tropical distribution is inferred for the genus Leptomitus. Based on body shape, wall structure and stratigraphical distribution, a phylogenetic tree of the various Leptomitus species is proposed, with a central stock of simple cylindrical sponges branching out to other morphs.

yearjournalcountryeditionlanguage
2007-03-01Palaeontology
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-4983.2007.00635.x