The chemical composition of a new “mica sandwich” foraminiferal species from the East Coast of Korea:Capsammina crassasp. nov.

Abstract

We describe a new agglutinated monothalamous foraminiferal species, Capsammina crassa sp. nov., based on integrated observations of the test morphology and the chemical characteristics of materials composing the test. The new species was found at a depth of <60 m on the East coast of Korea. The test morphology is typical of the genus Capsammina, comprising two or more mica plates with a ring of finely agglutinated mineral grains sandwiched between them and surrounding the cell body. There is no distinct test aperture. Elemental analyses of the agglutinated grains revealed 15 different types of mineral grains of which quartz is the most abundant. The surface areas of grains exposed on fractured surfaces ranged from 1.6 to 7,700 μm2 and the large plate-like grains forming the upper and lower surfaces measured about 420–2,350 μm in maximum width. The new species is morphologically similar to C. patelliformis, however, the differences in size, distribution area and depth support that these two species are distinct. This discovery is the first record of the genus Capsammina from the North Pacific. Therefore, it extends the biodiversity and geographical distribution of the genus Capsammina, which has been reported only from the bathyal NE Atlantic. Our finding also suggests the possibility of additional discovery of monothalamous foraminifera from around Korea.

A Brief Report of Five Newly Recorded Korean Modern Benthic Foraminiferal Species

“…However, taxonomic descriptions or voucher specimens for most of the records are missing, and the research areas were mainly limited to some coastal areas. After the year 2010, taxonomic and diversity studies on benthic foraminifera have been conducted for 10 years in areas not previously investigated before, such as East Sea (Japan Sea) and East China Sea in the southern Jeju Island, and in line with it, several newly recorded species (218 species) or new species (1 species) have been reported [6][7][8][9][10].…”