CYREA SZYMBORSKA GEN. ET SP NOV., A NEW TEXTULARIID FORAMINIFER FROM THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA

Textulariid foraminifera are characterized by a multichambered test with an agglutinated wall structure. Recent molecular work has shown that the order Textulariida appears as a paraphyletic group within the class Globothalamea. While larger members of the textulariids are fairly well known, smaller forms like the ones described here are often overlooked or synonymized with known species. A new species and genus was isolated from algal samples collected on the French coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Cyrea szymborska gen. and sp. nov., has a trochospiral chamber arrangement, measuring 100-210 mu m in diameter. The organic wall is brownish, opaque, and sparsely agglutinated with diatom frustules and mineral grains, mostly 20 mu m or smaller in size. The proloculus is not agglutinated. The extra-umbilical aperture forms a low arch. It is smooth, not agglutinated, and located on the last chamber. The biochemistry of the organic wall was investigated using Raman spectroscopy, showing that it is made of a meshwork of proteoglycans. A combined analysis of SSU and LSU rDNA sequences confirms the position of Cyrea among textulariids, distantly from all other genera. Molecular analyses revealed two phylotypes belonging to the new genus, one of which is formally described here.