Lithomelissa babai, n. sp.
Creators: name: Trubovitz, Sarah
name: Renaudie, Johan
name: Lazarus, David
name: Noble, Paula
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Chromista
Radiozoa
Polycystina
Nassellaria
Plagiacanthidae
Lithomelissa
Lithomelissa babai

description: Lithomelissa babai n. sp.   
Plate 18, Figs. 1A – 5B.  
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 2B2D2DC5-3F5E-4BB8-B39A-795A513F78A2  
 unknown plagonid group C sp 27, Trubovitz et al., 2020, supplementary data 7.   
 Diagnosis. Lithomelissa with a hemispherical cephalis exhibiting multiple long conical spines, and a cylindrical thorax that is slightly wider than the cephalis.   
 Description. The cephalis of this species is hemispherical in shape, and is very strongly silicified with large, framed pores. This species has several long, conical spines on the cephalis. These are easily broken off, but often at least two are preserved and our specimens showed up to six spines. One of the cephalic horns is connected to the apical spine, which is free within the cephalis like all Lithomelissa species. This apical horn is most often thin and conical like the others, but it can apparently develop into a stronger, tri-bladed horn in some individuals. The thorax is cylindrical in shape and is always wider than the cephalis. There are enlarged pores at the top of the thorax, near the connection to the cephalis. The dorsal and lateral spines protrude slightly through the wall of the thorax, but do not form long appendages.   
 Remarks. This species differs from Lithomelissa dybbuki n. sp. (Pl. 19, Figs. 1–7) in that it is larger overall, and has more spines on the cephalis. The collar structure is sunken into the thorax, so the species does not have a constriction at the base of the cephalis, differentiating it from Lithomelissa mitra (Pl. 15, Figs. 4A – 6), L. celsagula (Pl. 15, Figs. 1A – 2B), L. alkonost n. sp. (Pl. 16, Figs. 1A – 7B), and L. sirin n. sp. (Pl. 17, Figs. 1 –11B).   
 Material examined. 42 specimens observed from samples 321-1337A-10H-2, 91–94cm (Early Pliocene), 321-1337A-7H- 6, 104–107cm (Early Pliocene), 321-1337A-6H-3, 29–32cm (Late Pliocene), 321-1337A-5H-5, 11–14cm (Late Pliocene), 321-1337A-4H-2, 16–19cm (Middle Pleistocene), 321-1337A-3H- 2, 103–106cm (Middle Pleistocene), and 321-1337D-1H-1, 0–3cm (Recent).   
 Holotype. Pl. 18, Figs. 1A–C; sample 321-1337A-7H-6, 104– 107cm; ECO-143; C26-3.   
 Paratypes. (1) Pl. 18, fig. 2; sample 321-1337A-7H- 6, 104–107cm; ECO-143; U30-1. (2) Pl. 18, figs. 3A–B; sample 321-1337A-7H- 6, 104–107cm; ECO-133; G15-3. (3) Pl. 18, figs. 4A–B; sample 321-1337A-7H- 6, 104– 107cm; ECO-133; X24-4. (4) Pl. 18, figs. 5A–B; sample 321-1337A-7H- 6, 104–107cm; ECO-134; K38-2. (5) [not figured] sample 321-1337A-7H- 6, 104–107cm; ECO-135; F37-4. (6) [not figured] sample 321-1337A-7H- 6, 104–107cm; ECO-134; G27-1.   
 Measurements. Height of cephalis 36–43 (39)μm; width of cephalis 32–41 (36)μm; width of thorax at shoulder area 46–59 (51)μm.   
 Etymology. Named for the boogeyman in Russian folklore, Babai.   
 Range. Early Pliocene–Recent, EEP (Table 1).
description: Published as part of Trubovitz, Sarah, Renaudie, Johan, Lazarus, David & Noble, Paula, 2022, Late Neogene Lophophaenidae (Nassellaria, Radiolaria) from the eastern equatorial Pacific, pp. 1-158 in Zootaxa 5160 (1) on pages 42-43, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5160.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/10544058