Nothia ex gr. excelsa (Grzybowski, 1898), ‘flysch-type’ agglutinated foraminifera from the Karpatian (Early-Miocene) of Hungary

Abstract

Nothia ex gr. excelsa (Grzybowski, 1898) branched, agglutinated, tubular foraminifera is documented for the first time from the Karpatian (latest Burdigalian) molasse sediments of the Paratethys. Excellently preserved specimens allowed the study of the macro- and microstructure of the test using reflected and polarized light microscopes, SEM and Raman spectroscopy. The mineralogical components of the agglutinated grains, the appearance of the protruded aperture with a scalloped-edge, the microstructure of the bilamellar wall, the presence of the calcite microgranular cement could all be described in detail. Based on autecology, the test morphology and the associated fauna indicate that Nothia ex gr. excelsa was a surface-dwelling detritivore with a seasonal-phytophagous mode of life.

Keywords:

• Agglutinated
• palaeoecology
• Raman spectroscopy
• isolated
• thin section
• Paratethys

Acknowledgments

We thank Emőke Tóth for the evaluation of the Ostracod fauna. We are very grateful to János Viszkok for his highly valuable comments and his editorial work on our manuscript. Fabrizio We thank Fabrizio Frontalini and the anonymous reviewer for their careful reading of our manuscript. We extend our thanks to Philip Rawlinson who greatly improved the English of our manuscript. This work was supported by the Hantken Foundation to which we remain very grateful.