Distribution and possible paleoecological significance of Annectina viriosa , a new species of agglutinated foraminifera from nonmarine salt ponds in Manitoba

Annectina viriosa , a new species of Ammodiscidae (Foraminiferida), is described from Recent brackish ponds on a salt flat adjacent to Lake Winnipegosis, Manitoba. Colonization of the ponds was probably by avian transport. The distinct morphotype is either the result of an allopatric speciation even...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Paleontology
Main Authors: Patterson, R. Timothy, McKillop, W. Brian
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1991
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022336000020163
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022336000020163
Description
Summary:Annectina viriosa , a new species of Ammodiscidae (Foraminiferida), is described from Recent brackish ponds on a salt flat adjacent to Lake Winnipegosis, Manitoba. Colonization of the ponds was probably by avian transport. The distinct morphotype is either the result of an allopatric speciation event within the last 5,000 years or it is a previously undescribed species of shallow-water Annectina from nearby Hudson Bay. It is also possible that recovered specimens are previously unrecognized ecophenotypic variants of some known species produced by unknown hostile environmental factors within the pond ecosystem. The latter hypothesis is difficult to test without extensive biological culturing. The large number of phenotypically stable specimens living in these ponds warrants recognition of these populations as a distinct taxon.