Astrorhizoidea

Belongs within: Sar.
Contains: Rhabdammininae, Bathysiphoninae.

Three random foram genera

Published 12 July 2010

As explained elsewhere, the ‘Saccamminidae’ are undoubtedly a polyphyletic assemblage of forams of very simple morphology. In the influential, and outdated, classification of Cushman (1940), ‘saccamminids’ were divided between four subfamilies for which odds are that each of those subfamilies are as polyphyletic as the whole. Let’s take a look at the members of one of those subfamilies and see where they are now.

The subfamily Pelosininae, as recognised by Cushman (1940), included the genera Pelosina, Technitella and Pilulina. The distinguishing characteristics of this subfamily were that its members had free, unattached tests with a single chamber, at least one aperture and walls composed of fine particles. All three also live in the deep sea and include relatively large species for forams (up to 60 mm in height in Pelosina). In the classification of Kaminski (2004), none of these genera were closely associated. In the case of Pelosina, Cushman was not even correct about the few defining features of the subfamily because this genus does live attached to the sediment by root-like structures (Rützler & Richardson 1996). Pelosina species are one of a number of tree-like forams that form a significant component of the deep-sea benthic community.

Technitella, in contrast, is an elongate, somewhat sausage-like form. The name of the genus (“little workman”) refers to its elegantly constructed test, constructed from carefully selected materials. Heron-Allen & Earland (1909) described one species, T. thompsoni, which uses nothing but brittle star plates while T. legumen prefers sponge spicules, arranged in two layers with the spicules in each layer at right angles to each other to strengthen the test. Heron-Allen and Earland mused that “Probably we should be considered as imposing too weighty a postulate upon the members of the Club if we ventured to suggest that these rudimentary organisms were gifted with any aesthetic sense… it would appear that this “primordial, protoplasmic, atomic globule” is by no means so elementary an organism as naturalists are inclined to believe“.

Finally, Pilulina constructs a globular test of felted sponge spicules with an elongate aperture like the mouth on a stick-figure’s face. Of the three genera, only Pelosina and Pilulina have appeared in molecular phylogenetic analyses and the two do not appear to be associated, sitting instead in separate parts of the saccamminid cloud (e.g., Lecroq et al., 2009). Mikhalevich & Voronova (1999) argued that Pelosina is in fact a xenophyophore and placed it in the order Stannomida with the genera Stannoma and Stannophyllum. This was based on the supposed presence of linellae, a structure only otherwise found in stannomids. No molecular analysis has indicated an association between Pelosina and other xenophyophores. However, no other stannomid has appeared in these analyses, so just because Pelosina is not directly related to xenophyophores may not necessarily mean that it is not directly related to stannomids.

Systematics of Astrorhizoidea

<==Astrorhizoidea [Dendrophryoidea, Schizamminoidea]PHT13
    |--VanhoeffenellidaeK14
    |    |--Vanhoeffenella Rhumbler 1905 [=Arvanhoeffenum Rhumbler 1913]LT64
    |    |    `--*V. gaussi Rhumbler 1905 [=*Arvanhoeffenum gaussi]LT64
    |    `--Inauris Conkin, Conkin & Thurman 1979K14
    |--HippocrepinellidaeM13
    |    |--Lakites Nestell & Tolmacheva 2004M13
    |    |--Hippocrepinella Heron-Allen & Earland 1932SM22, LT64
    |    |    `--*H. hirudinea Heron-Allen & Earland 1932 [=Bathysiphon hirudinea]LT64
    |    |--Amphitremoida Eisenack 1938K14 [=Amphitremoidea Thalmann 1941LT64]
    |    |    `--*A. citroniforma Eisenack 1938 [=*Amphitremoidea citroniforma, Ordovicina citroniforma]LT64
    |    |--Croneisella Dunn 1942K14
    |    |    `--*C. typa Dunn 1942 [=Ordovicina typa]LT64
    |    `--Lavella Nestell & Tolmacheva 2004K14
    |--Astrorhizidae [Pelosininae]M13
    |    |--Globodendrina Plewes, Palmer & Haynes 1993M13
    |    |--Astrorhiza Sandahl 1858 (see below for synonymy)LT64
    |    |    |--*A. limnicola Sandahl 1858 [=*Arastrorhizum limnicola]LT64
    |    |    |--‘*Astrodiscus’ arenaceus Schulze 1875LT64
    |    |    |--A. arenariaC40
    |    |    |--‘*Haeckelina’ gigantea Bessels 1875LT64
    |    |    |--A. granulosaC40
    |    |    `--‘Ammodiscus’ lindahli Carpenter & Jeffreys 1870 (see below for synonymy)LT64
    |    |--Astrorhizoides Stschedrina 1969K14
    |    |--Clados Schröder, Medioli & Scott 1989K14
    |    |--Cystingarhiza Bell 1996K14
    |    |--Cylindrammina Bell 1996K14
    |    |--Pelosina Brady 1879K14 (see below for synonymy)
    |    |    |--*P. variabilis Brady 1879 [=*Arpelosum variabile]LT64
    |    |    |--P. arborescensG96
    |    |    |--P. bicaudata (Parr 1950) [=*Pelosinella bicaudata]LT64
    |    |    |--P. distoma Millett 1904 [=*Millettina distoma]LT64
    |    |    |--P. rotundataC40
    |    |    `--P. sphaeriloculum Höglund 1947 [=P. variabilis var. sphaeriloculum, *Globosiphon sphaeriloculum]LT64
    |    `--Radicula Christiansen 1958K14
    |         `--*R. limosa Christiansen 1958LT64
    |--RhabdamminidaeM13
    |    |--RhabdammininaeK14
    |    `--BathysiphoninaeM13
    |--DryorhizopsidaeK14
    |    |--Dryorhizopsis Henbest 1963HW93
    |    `--Sagenina Chapman 1900K14 [=Arsagenum Rhumbler 1913LT64, Sagenella Brady 1879 non Hall 1851LT64]
    |         `--*S. frondescens (Brady 1879) [=*Sagenella frondescens, *Arsagenum frondescens]LT64
    |--Notodendrodes Delaca, Lipps & Hessler 1980 [Notodendrodidae]K14
    |    `--N. antarctikosPH03
    |--ArboramminidaeM13
    |    |--Arborammina Shires, Gooday & Jones 1994K14
    |    |    `--A. hilaryaeRR96
    |    `--Luffammina Kamenskaya, Bagirov & Simdianov 2002M13
    |--DendrophryidaeK14
    |    |  i. s.: Psammatodendron Norman 1881K14
    |    |           `--*P. arborescens Norman in Brady 1881 [=Dendrophrya arborescens]LT64
    |    |         Saccodendron Rhumbler 1935K14
    |    |           `--*S. heronalleni Rhumbler 1935 [incl. S. heronalleni f. latericium Rhumbler 1935]LT64
    |    |--Spiculidendron Rützler & Richardson 1996RR96 [SpiculidendroninaeM13]
    |    |    `--*S. corallicolum Rützler & Richardson 1996RR96
    |    `--DendrophryinaeM13
    |         |--Dendronina Heron-Allen & Earland 1922LT64
    |         |    `--*D. arborescens Heron-Allen & Earland 1922LT64
    |         `--Dendrophrya Wright 1861 [=Ardendrophyrum Rhumbler 1913, Dendrophyra (l. c.)]LT64
    |              `--*D. erecta Wright 1861LT64
    |--Halyphysema Bowerbank 1862LT64 (see below for synonymy)
    |    `--*H. tumanowiczii Bowerbank 1862 (see below for synonymy)LT64
    |--SchizamminidaeK14
    |    |--Jullienella Schlumberger 1890LT64
    |    |    |--*J. foetida Schlumberger 1890LT64
    |    |    `--J. zealandicaPG98
    |    `--Schizammina Heron-Allen & Earland 1929 (see below for synonymy)LT64
    |         |--*S. labyrinthica Heron-Allen & Earland 1929LT64
    |         `--S. wedmoriensis (Chapman 1895) (see below for synonymy)LT64
    `--Diffusilinidae [Diffusilininae]M13
         |--Diffusilina Heron-Allen & Earland 1924LT64
         |    `--*D. humilis Heron-Allen & Earland 1924LT64
         |--Kerionammina Moreman 1933LT64
         |    `--*K. favus Moreman 1933LT64
         |--Weikkoella Summerson 1958LT64
         |    `--*W. sphaerica Summerson 1958LT64
         `--Atelikamara Mcclellan 1973K14

Inorganic: Astrorhiza cretacea Franke 1928H75

‘Ammodiscus’ lindahli Carpenter & Jeffreys 1870 [incl. *Arenistella agglutinans Fischer in de Folin & Périer 1875]^LT64

Astrorhiza Sandahl 1858 [=Arastrorhizum Rhumbler 1913; incl. Arenistella Fischer in de Folin & Périer 1875, Astrodiscus Schulze 1875 non Ludwig 1866, Haeckelina Bessels 1875]^LT64

Halyphysema Bowerbank 1862^LT64 [=Arhaliphysemum Rhumbler 1913^LT64, Gastrophysema Haeckel 1877^LT64, Haliphysema Haeckel 1877^LT64; Halyphysematidae^M13]

*Halyphysema tumanowiczii Bowerbank 1862 [=*Arhaliphysemum tumanowiczii, *Haliphysema tumanowiczii, Squamulina scopula Carter 1877, *Gastrophysema scopula]^LT64

Pelosina Brady 1879^K14 [=Arpelosum Rhumbler 1913^LT64; incl. Globosiphon Avnimelech 1952^LT64, Millettina Avnimelech 1952^LT64, Pelosinella Parr 1950^LT64; Caudammininae^M13]

Schizammina Heron-Allen & Earland 1929 [incl. Arpsammosiphoum Rhumbler 1913, Psammosiphon Rhumbler 1911 non Vine 1882]^LT64

Schizammina wedmoriensis (Chapman 1895) [=Nodosinella wedmoriensis, *Arpsammosiphoum wedmoriense, *Psammosiphon wedmoriense]^LT64

*Type species of generic name indicated

References

[C40] Cushman, J. A. 1940. Foraminifera: Their classification and economic use 3^rd ed. Harvard University Press: Cambridge (Massachusetts).

[G96] Gooday, A. J. 1996. Xenophyophores (Protista), including two new species, from two abyssal sites in the northeast Atlantic Ocean. Journal of Foraminiferal Research 26 (3): 193–208.

[H75] Häntzschel, W. 1975. Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology pt W. Miscellanea Suppl. 1. Trace Fossils and Problematica 2^nd ed. The Geological Society of America: Boulder (Colorado), and The University of Kansas: Lawrence (Kansas).

[HW93] Hart, M. B., & C. L. Williams. 1993. Protozoa. In: Benton, M. J. (ed.) The Fossil Record 2 pp. 43–70. Chapman & Hall: London.

Heron-Allen, E., & A. Earland. 1909. On a new species of Technitella from the North Sea, with some observations upon selective power as exercised by certain species of arenaceous Foraminifera. Journal of the Quekett Microscopical Club, second series 10: 403–412.

Kaminski, M. A. 2004. The Year 2000 classification of the agglutinated Foraminifera. In: Bubík, M., & M. A. Kaminski (eds) Proceedings of the Sixth International Workshop on Agglutinated Foraminifera. Grzybowski Foundation Special Publication 8: 237–255.

[K14] Kaminski, M. A. 2014. The year 2010 classification of the agglutinated Foraminifera. Micropaleontology 60 (1): 89–108.

Lecroq, B., A. J. Gooday, T. Cedhagen, A. Sabbatini & J. Pawlowski. 2009. Molecular analyses reveal high levels of eukaryotic richness associated with enigmatic deep-sea protists (Komokiacea). Marine Biodiversity 39: 45–55.

[LT64] Loeblich, A. R., Jr & H. Tappan. 1964. Sarcodina: chiefly “thecamoebians” and Foraminiferida. In: Moore, R. C. (ed.) Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology pt C. Protista 2 vol. 1. The Geological Society of America and The University of Kansas Press.

[M13] Mikhalevich, V. I. 2013. New insight into the systematics and evolution of the Foraminifera. Micropaleontology 59 (6): 493–527.

Mikhalevich, V. I., & M. N. Voronova. 1999. O sistematicheskom polozhenii roda Pelosina (Xenophyophoria, Protista, inc. sedis). Zoologicheskii Zhurnal 78 (2): 133–141.

[PH03] Pawlowski, J., M. Holzmann, J. Fahrni & S. L. Richardson. 2003. Small subunit ribosomal DNA suggests that the xenophyophorean Syringammina corbicula is a foraminiferan. Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology 50: 483–487.

[PHT13] Pawlowski, J., M. Holzmann & J. Tyszka. 2013. New supraordinal classification of Foraminifera: molecules meet morphology. Marine Micropalaeontology 100: 1–10.

[PG98] Probert, P. K., & S. L. Grove. 1998. Macrobenthic assemblages of the continental shelf and upper slope off the west coast of South Island, New Zealand. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 28: 259–280.

[RR96] Rützler, K., & S. Richardson. 1996. The Caribbean spicule tree: a sponge-imitating foraminifer (Astrorhizidae). Bulletin de l’Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique 66 (Suppl.): 143–151.

[SM22] Sierra, R., F. Mauffrey, J. Cruz, M. Holzmann, A. J. Gooday, X. Maurer-Alcalá, R. Thakur, M. Greco, A. K. M. Weiner, L. A. Katz & J. Pawlowski. 2022. Taxon-rich transcriptomics supports higher-level phylogeny and major evolutionary trends in Foraminifera. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 174: 107546.