Eponides de Montfort 1808
Creators: name: Mamo, Briony L.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Chromista
Foraminifera
Globothalamea
Rotaliida
Eponididae
Eponides

description: Eponides de Montfort 1808
Eponides sp. cf. E. repandus (Fichtel & Moll 1798) (Fig. 19:7–10)
Description. Test trochospiral, evolute on spiral side and involute on umbilical, unequally biconvex. Periphery smooth, slightly lobulate around weakly inflated chambers with a thin carina. Chambers crescent shaped on spiral side and subtriangular on umbilical side. Sutures radial, curved and depressed on umbilical side, raised on spiral side. Interiosutural area finely perforate to smooth. Clustered pustular ornament occasionally present on initial chambers on both sides of test. Outer edge of final chamber on umbilical side of test extended to form a thin, apertural face pitted with areal apertures.
Remarks. These specimens are only tentatively assigned to Eponides repandus (Fichtel & Moll 1978) due to the highly damaged nature of the available material however, the distinct features of this species, including the areal apertures on the umbilical side of the test, test shape and ornament (Fig. 19:7–10) are apparent.
Eponides repandus is a common species in reef environments (Bock et al. 1971; Hatta & Ujiié 1992a; Hottinger et al. 1993; Loeblich & Tappan 1994; Parker 2009), but specimens are known to display variation in the test ornament. Some specimens appear to have completely smooth tests (Hatta & Ujiié 1992a; Hottinger et al. 1993; Loeblich & Tappan 1994) whilst others have more roughened textures due to the presence of fine perforations and their variation in size (Bock et al. 1971; Parker 2009; Debenay 2012). The location, size and density of the pustulate ornament also varies on the CG specimens and other examples (Bock et al. 1971; Hatta & Ujiié 1992a; Hottinger et al. 1993; Loeblich & Tappan 1994; Parker 2009). Capricorn Group specimens all possessed roughly textured test walls on their aboral sides due to poor preservation and sections of fine perforations divided by imperforate, raised sutures (Fig. 19:7, 8). The amount and intensity of pustulate ornament however, varies between CG specimens. Additionally, areal sutures vary in number and proliferation along the apertural face extension with E. repandus. Those CG specimens with a relatively large apertural face have areal sutures evenly distributed across the face, similar to the specimens described by Hatta & Ujiié (1992a) and Debenay (2012). In contrast, the specimens described by Parker (2009) and Hottinger et al. (1993) have fewer areal apertures with the largest along the periphery of the test. Furthermore, the areal apertures on the specimens illustrated by Bock et al. (1971, pl. 21, figs 6, 7) and Lobelich & Tappan (1994, pl. 268, figs 10–13) are further differentiated by having a number of areal apertures between the two extremes. The apertural face is also angled down sharply back towards the test whereas other examples, like specimens collected from the CG, have only a gently sloping face.
The original description of E. repandus by Fichtel & Moll (1798) is based on material from the Mediterranean Sea. This species has a global distribution (Florida Bay—Bock et al. 1971; Ryukyu Island Arc—Hatta & Ujiié 1992a; Gulf of Aqaba—Hottinger et al. 1991a and 1993; northeast Timor Sea from 72 m—Loeblich & Tappan 1994; restricted to deeper waters in gaps between reefs at Ningaloo Reef—Parker 2009; New Caledonia southern shelf from 30+ m—Debenay 2012).
Distribution within study area. Eponides repandus was only found in low abundance (one to six specimens per site) in One Tree lagoons and the channel sample. The site of greatest abundance is site 34 in One Tree Lagoon 1, which is the centre of the deepest One Tree Lagoon. This distribution matches those previously reported by Loeblich & Tappan (1994) and Parker (2009).
description: Published as part of Mamo, Briony L., 2016, Benthic Foraminifera from the Capricorn Group, Great Barrier Reef, Australia, pp. 1-123 in Zootaxa 4215 (1) on page 81, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4215.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/272923