Dual nomenclature in organic-walled dinoflagellate cysts II: Spiniferites elongatus and S. membranaceus, and their equivalent non-fossil species Gonyaulax ovum comb. nov. and G. lewisiae sp. nov.

Abstract

The cyst-defined extant Spiniferites elongatus Reid 1974 and Spiniferites membranaceus (Rossignol 1964) Sarjeant 1970 are environmentally significant fossil-species of the Quaternary, the former often dominating polar and subpolar assemblages. Following cyst incubation experiments and the establishment of cultures, these species were emended to incorporate information on their motile stages, and transferred to the non-fossil genus Gonyaulax Diesing 1866, as Gonyaulax elongata (Reid 1974) Ellegaard et al. 2003 and Gonyaulax membranacea (Rossignol 1964) Ellegaard et al. 2003. This unified approach to dinoflagellate nomenclature severs an important link with the fossil-genus Spiniferites Mantell 1850. We have applied dual nomenclature, as sanctioned by the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi and plants, in returning these species to their previous assignments as Spiniferites elongatus and Spiniferites membranaceus, and we propose Gonyaulax ovum (Gaarder 1954) comb. nov., emend. and Gonyaulax lewisiae sp. nov., respectively, as their equivalent non-fossil species. A distinctive morphotype initially described as Rottnestia amphicavata var. amphicavata Dobell & Norris in Harland et al. 1980 is proposed as Spiniferites elongatus forma amphicavata stat. nov.

Keywords:

• Dinocyst
• taxonomy
• dual nomenclature
• Gonyaulax ovum
• Gonyaulax lewisiae
• Spiniferites elongatus
• Spiniferites membranaceus

Acknowledgements

We are most grateful to N. Van Nieuwenhove for providing photos of Spiniferites elongatus (Plate 1, figs. 1–4), and to M. Bringué as NRCan internal reviewer and three journal reviewers for their constructive comments. MJH acknowledges support from a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Discovery Grant. KNM was financially supported by the French National Research Agency (ANR) PhenoMap project, ANR-20-CE02-0025. RAF acknowledges the support of Natural Resources Canada (Geological Survey of Canada); this is NRCan contribution number 2023098. We dedicate this article to the memory of Professor Geoffrey Norris (1937–2023), a highly respected palynologist and outstanding mentor.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Martin J. Head

MARTIN J. HEAD is a professor of Earth sciences at Brock University. His interests are in late Cenozoic marine palynology, and particularly the late Neogene–Quaternary record of dinoflagellate cysts and acritarchs and their application to palaeoenvironmental reconstruction. He is also involved in formal chronostratigraphy including that of the Quaternary Period, including efforts to formalize the Anthropocene as a new epoch. He is a former president of AASP – The Palynological Society and of the Canadian Association of Palynologists.

Kenneth N. Mertens

KENNETH NEIL MERTENS is a researcher at Ifremer, LER BO, Concarneau, France. He received his PhD in 2009 from Ghent University. His research interests are the taxonomy, evolution, phylogeny and biogeography of dinoflagellates, and the palaeoceanographical application of dinoflagellate cysts, particularly in the Quaternary and Neogene.

Robert A. Fensome

ROBERT A. FENSOME is a research scientist with the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC), part of the federal department of Natural Resources Canada, in their Atlantic Division at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. During his 39-year tenure at the GSC, Rob has focussed mainly on Mesozoic and Cenozoic dinoflagellate cysts from offshore eastern Canada, but recently ventured into projects involving assemblages from north-western and Arctic Canada. While his mandate has involved primarily biostratigraphical and palaeoenvironmental studies, he also has a strong interest in dinoflagellate taxonomy and evolution, miospore taxonomy and geological outreach, having co-authored and co-edited two books for a general audience, one on the geology of Canada and one on the geology of Canada’s Maritime Provinces.