Loriolia rosana (Cooke, 1946)
Plate: LoRo-10
Series: Lower Cretaceous Group: Trinity Formation: Glen Rose
Locale: Hancock County: Comal Stage: Albian
Length: 15.1 mm Height: 7.5 mm
Specimen in photo: NPL 83024 Hypotype
Collector: William R. Thompson, Jr.
Repository: Non-vertebrate Paleo. Lab., Univ. of Texas
Plate: PoTe-20
Series: Lower Cretaceous Group: Trinity Formation: Glen rose
Locale: Oglesby County: Coryell Stage: Albian
Length: 19.6 mm Height: 7.9 mm
Specimen in Photos: Collection of Frank Crane
HOLOTYPE INFO:
Holotype: USNM 103878 (Cooke, 1946).
Locality: Kerr County, Texas (Cooke, 1946). (Upper Glen Rose is exposed in Kerr County, not the Lower).
Stratigraphy: Glen Rose Formation.
SYNONYMY
SYSTEMATIC PALEONTOLOGY – TAXONOMY
Class: Echinoidea Leske, 1778
Subclass: Euechinoidea Bronn, 1860
Infraclass: Carinacea Kroh & Smith, 2010
Superorder: Calycina Gregory, 1900
Order: Phymosomatoida Mortensen, 1904
Family: Polydiadematidae Lambert, 1900
Genus: LORIOLIA Neumayr, 1881
Species: Loriolia rosana Cooke, 1946
TYPE SPECIES: Pseudodiadema bourgueti var. foucardi Cotteau, 1851
DIAGNOSIS
Test circular, depressed to subconical. Apical system large, pentagonal, and typically elongated posteriorly. Interambulacral plates bear a single primary tubercle surrounded by dense, uniform granulation. Ambulacral pore pairs are uniserial but may become crowded or form short phyllodes near the peristome (Smith & Rader, 2009).
STRATIGRAPHICAL OCCURRENCE & DISTRIBUTION
Group: Trinity
Formations: Glen Rose Formation.
Stratigraphic Units: Lower Cretaceous, Albian.
Counties: Comal (upper & lower Glen Rose exposed), only the upper Glen Rose exposed in Travis, Kerr, and Bexar. Upper Glen Rose is exposed in Bandera County.
Abundance: Common in the upper Glen Rose Formation.
DESCRIPTION
TOP: Length, width, height: 15.1 mm L × 7.5 mm H.
Top shape: Circular outline.
Top domed: Flat top surface.
SIDE: Ambitus: Positioned at the midpoint (50% from bottom).
Side shape: Curved sides.
BOTTOM: Bottom shape: Flat.
AMB: Amb shape: Straight; widest part just below the ambitus. Narrows at the apical disc and peristome; narrowing is more pronounced aborally.
Amb arrangement: Two rows of large tubercles.
Amb width: Interambulacra are twice as wide as the ambulacra.
PORE PAIRS: Arrangement: Uniserial from the apical disc; crowded near the peristome.
Shape: Round.
TUBERCLES: Primary Perforated: Yes.
Primary Crenulate: Yes.
Interambulacral Tubercles: Two rows of tubercles larger than those in the ambulacra.
Areolas: Large and spherical.
Mamelons: Large and rounded.
Features: Scrobiculate.
GRANULES: Distribution: "Lots of granulation" covers the test. Roemer (1852) noted that the gaps between individual tubercles are covered uniformly with fine bumps. Smith & Rader (2009) specify that well-developed zones of densely packed, uniformly sized secondary tubercles are a key generic trait.
FASCIOLE: Absent.
APICAL SYSTEM: Size: Large; diameter 45–50% of the test.
Shape: Pentagonal.
Features: Protrudes into each interambulacrum; one protrusion (posterior) is much greater/elongated than the other four.
PERIPROCT (ANUS): Unknown
PERISTOME (MOUTH): Size: Diameter ~40% of bottom.
Shape: Depressed.
Lip: Buccal notches present on either side of ambulacra.
Phyllodes: Described as "No phyllodes" in the studied specimen, though Smith & Rader (2009) note that short phyllodes (triads of pore pairs) are developed in this species, unlike the type species L. foucardi.
SPINES: Unknown.
SPECIMENS STUDIED & CONDITION: Hypotype NPL 83024. Collected by William R. Thompson, Jr.
ETYMOLOGY
Named rosana by Cooke (1946), likely referring to the Glen Rose Formation where it is found.
Summary of Names:
Author & Date
Name Used
Status
Roemer (1849)
Diadema texanum
Now Phymosoma texanum
Roemer (1852)
Diadema texanum
Invalid homonym of 1849 name
Clark (1893)
Pseudodiadema texanum
First use of this genus/species combination
Lambert (1927)
Loriolia texana
First use of this genus/species combination
Adkins (1928)
Loriolia texana
Adopted Lambert's combination; described on p. 273
Cooke (1946)
Loriolia rosana
Replacement name for Roemer's invalid 1852 species
Whitney (1966)
Pseudodiadema elevatum
Formally named the "elevated form"
Smith & Rader (2009)
Loriolia rosana
Synonymized all "elevated" and "flat" Glen Rose forms
REMARKS & COMPARISONS
Remarks: This species has a complex taxonomic history. Roemer (1852) originally described it as Diadema texanum. However, Roemer had already used that name in 1849 for a different echinoid (now Phymosoma texanum). To resolve the homonym, Cooke (1946) renamed this species Loriolia rosana. Atkins (1928) described elevated forms also from the Upper Glen Rose and described them under the name Loriolia texana.
Whitney & Kellum (1966) distinguish two species, Pseudodiadema elevatus, based on a greater aboral elevation and smaller tubercles and the flat Pseudodiadema texana. Smith & Rader (2009) reviewed these forms and concluded that P. elevatus and P. texana are synonyms of L. rosana, representing intraspecific variation in test height.
Remarks (1-4-2025): Smith and Rader, 2009 studied many Loriolia but they were from the Upper Glen Rose, units 3 and 7, and not from the Lower. When comparing the elevated specimens and the flat or non-elevated - several differences are noted.
In the flat, is a 2nd row of tubercles, smaller than the primary tubercles in the interamb. The tubercles do not run from apical to peristome. In the elevated, the 2nd row of tubercles runs from apical to peristome and there is much more granulation.
Based on the older literature of Whitney (1952), Whitney & Kellum (1966), Adkins (1928), and Cooke (1946, 1955) generally characterizes the Upper Glen Rose as echinoid-poor compared to the Lower Glen Rose, but specific "zones" or "beds" were recognized where echinoids appeared.
Whitney & Kellum (1966), Echinoids of the Glen Rose Limestone of Texas, explicitly separated the Glen Rose Pseudodiadema into two species. They described P. elevatus (the high, inflated form) specifically from the Upper Glen Rose, distinguishing it from P. texanum (the flat form) found in the Lower Glen Rose.
The literature confirms that the "elevated" specimens (historically P. elevatus) possess the diplopodous (double-rowed) or more heavily tuberculated interambulacral character typical of Pseudodiadema, whereas the "flat" specimens (L. rosana) exhibit the reduced secondary tuberculation (fading apically) typical of Loriolia.
While modern authors (like Smith & Rader, 2009) have synonymized P. texanum into L. rosana - attributing the height and granulation differences to intraspecific variation or growth stages observations correctly identify the morphological traits that originally led Whitney & Kellum to regard them as separate species.
Whitney & Kellum did not view them as the same species. They viewed them as stratigraphically separated species: the flat one in the Lower Glen Rose (Unit 2) and the elevated one in the Upper Glen Rose (Unit 3 and above). Modern authors (Smith & Rader) lumped them because they viewed the height difference as evolutionary or environmental variation within a single lineage (Loriolia rosana), but the 1966 text clearly separated them by both morphology and geography/stratigraphy
Instead of saying "there is a flat form and an elevated form," Smith & Rader did the following:
I disagree in classifying the flat form as Loriolia rosana and that it is a different species.
Comparisons:
Plate: LoRo-10
Series: Lower Cretaceous Group: Trinity Formation: Glen Rose
Locale: Hancock County: Comal Stage: Albian
Length: 15.1 mm Height: 7.5 mm
Specimen in photo: NPL 83024 Hypotype
Collector: William R. Thompson, Jr.
Repository: Non-vertebrate Paleo. Lab., Univ. of Texas
Plate: PoTe-20
Series: Lower Cretaceous Group: Trinity Formation: Glen rose
Locale: Oglesby County: Coryell Stage: Albian
Length: 19.6 mm Height: 7.9 mm
Specimen in Photos: Collection of Frank Crane
HOLOTYPE INFO:
Holotype: USNM 103878 (Cooke, 1946).
Locality: Kerr County, Texas (Cooke, 1946). (Upper Glen Rose is exposed in Kerr County, not the Lower).
Stratigraphy: Glen Rose Formation.
SYNONYMY
- Diadema texanum Roemer, 1852 (non Diadema texanum Roemer, 1849)
- Pseudodiadema texanum (Roemer) Desor, 1858
- Loriolia texana (Roemer) Adkins, 1928
- Pseudodiadema elevatus Whitney & Kellum, 1966 (fide Smith & Rader, 2009]
- Loriolia rosana Cooke, 1946 (Replacement name)
SYSTEMATIC PALEONTOLOGY – TAXONOMY
Class: Echinoidea Leske, 1778
Subclass: Euechinoidea Bronn, 1860
Infraclass: Carinacea Kroh & Smith, 2010
Superorder: Calycina Gregory, 1900
Order: Phymosomatoida Mortensen, 1904
Family: Polydiadematidae Lambert, 1900
Genus: LORIOLIA Neumayr, 1881
Species: Loriolia rosana Cooke, 1946
TYPE SPECIES: Pseudodiadema bourgueti var. foucardi Cotteau, 1851
DIAGNOSIS
Test circular, depressed to subconical. Apical system large, pentagonal, and typically elongated posteriorly. Interambulacral plates bear a single primary tubercle surrounded by dense, uniform granulation. Ambulacral pore pairs are uniserial but may become crowded or form short phyllodes near the peristome (Smith & Rader, 2009).
STRATIGRAPHICAL OCCURRENCE & DISTRIBUTION
Group: Trinity
Formations: Glen Rose Formation.
Stratigraphic Units: Lower Cretaceous, Albian.
Counties: Comal (upper & lower Glen Rose exposed), only the upper Glen Rose exposed in Travis, Kerr, and Bexar. Upper Glen Rose is exposed in Bandera County.
Abundance: Common in the upper Glen Rose Formation.
DESCRIPTION
TOP: Length, width, height: 15.1 mm L × 7.5 mm H.
Top shape: Circular outline.
Top domed: Flat top surface.
SIDE: Ambitus: Positioned at the midpoint (50% from bottom).
Side shape: Curved sides.
BOTTOM: Bottom shape: Flat.
AMB: Amb shape: Straight; widest part just below the ambitus. Narrows at the apical disc and peristome; narrowing is more pronounced aborally.
Amb arrangement: Two rows of large tubercles.
Amb width: Interambulacra are twice as wide as the ambulacra.
PORE PAIRS: Arrangement: Uniserial from the apical disc; crowded near the peristome.
Shape: Round.
TUBERCLES: Primary Perforated: Yes.
Primary Crenulate: Yes.
Interambulacral Tubercles: Two rows of tubercles larger than those in the ambulacra.
Areolas: Large and spherical.
Mamelons: Large and rounded.
Features: Scrobiculate.
GRANULES: Distribution: "Lots of granulation" covers the test. Roemer (1852) noted that the gaps between individual tubercles are covered uniformly with fine bumps. Smith & Rader (2009) specify that well-developed zones of densely packed, uniformly sized secondary tubercles are a key generic trait.
FASCIOLE: Absent.
APICAL SYSTEM: Size: Large; diameter 45–50% of the test.
Shape: Pentagonal.
Features: Protrudes into each interambulacrum; one protrusion (posterior) is much greater/elongated than the other four.
PERIPROCT (ANUS): Unknown
PERISTOME (MOUTH): Size: Diameter ~40% of bottom.
Shape: Depressed.
Lip: Buccal notches present on either side of ambulacra.
Phyllodes: Described as "No phyllodes" in the studied specimen, though Smith & Rader (2009) note that short phyllodes (triads of pore pairs) are developed in this species, unlike the type species L. foucardi.
SPINES: Unknown.
SPECIMENS STUDIED & CONDITION: Hypotype NPL 83024. Collected by William R. Thompson, Jr.
ETYMOLOGY
Named rosana by Cooke (1946), likely referring to the Glen Rose Formation where it is found.
Summary of Names:
Author & Date
Name Used
Status
Roemer (1849)
Diadema texanum
Now Phymosoma texanum
Roemer (1852)
Diadema texanum
Invalid homonym of 1849 name
Clark (1893)
Pseudodiadema texanum
First use of this genus/species combination
Lambert (1927)
Loriolia texana
First use of this genus/species combination
Adkins (1928)
Loriolia texana
Adopted Lambert's combination; described on p. 273
Cooke (1946)
Loriolia rosana
Replacement name for Roemer's invalid 1852 species
Whitney (1966)
Pseudodiadema elevatum
Formally named the "elevated form"
Smith & Rader (2009)
Loriolia rosana
Synonymized all "elevated" and "flat" Glen Rose forms
REMARKS & COMPARISONS
Remarks: This species has a complex taxonomic history. Roemer (1852) originally described it as Diadema texanum. However, Roemer had already used that name in 1849 for a different echinoid (now Phymosoma texanum). To resolve the homonym, Cooke (1946) renamed this species Loriolia rosana. Atkins (1928) described elevated forms also from the Upper Glen Rose and described them under the name Loriolia texana.
Whitney & Kellum (1966) distinguish two species, Pseudodiadema elevatus, based on a greater aboral elevation and smaller tubercles and the flat Pseudodiadema texana. Smith & Rader (2009) reviewed these forms and concluded that P. elevatus and P. texana are synonyms of L. rosana, representing intraspecific variation in test height.
Remarks (1-4-2025): Smith and Rader, 2009 studied many Loriolia but they were from the Upper Glen Rose, units 3 and 7, and not from the Lower. When comparing the elevated specimens and the flat or non-elevated - several differences are noted.
In the flat, is a 2nd row of tubercles, smaller than the primary tubercles in the interamb. The tubercles do not run from apical to peristome. In the elevated, the 2nd row of tubercles runs from apical to peristome and there is much more granulation.
Based on the older literature of Whitney (1952), Whitney & Kellum (1966), Adkins (1928), and Cooke (1946, 1955) generally characterizes the Upper Glen Rose as echinoid-poor compared to the Lower Glen Rose, but specific "zones" or "beds" were recognized where echinoids appeared.
Whitney & Kellum (1966), Echinoids of the Glen Rose Limestone of Texas, explicitly separated the Glen Rose Pseudodiadema into two species. They described P. elevatus (the high, inflated form) specifically from the Upper Glen Rose, distinguishing it from P. texanum (the flat form) found in the Lower Glen Rose.
The literature confirms that the "elevated" specimens (historically P. elevatus) possess the diplopodous (double-rowed) or more heavily tuberculated interambulacral character typical of Pseudodiadema, whereas the "flat" specimens (L. rosana) exhibit the reduced secondary tuberculation (fading apically) typical of Loriolia.
While modern authors (like Smith & Rader, 2009) have synonymized P. texanum into L. rosana - attributing the height and granulation differences to intraspecific variation or growth stages observations correctly identify the morphological traits that originally led Whitney & Kellum to regard them as separate species.
Whitney & Kellum did not view them as the same species. They viewed them as stratigraphically separated species: the flat one in the Lower Glen Rose (Unit 2) and the elevated one in the Upper Glen Rose (Unit 3 and above). Modern authors (Smith & Rader) lumped them because they viewed the height difference as evolutionary or environmental variation within a single lineage (Loriolia rosana), but the 1966 text clearly separated them by both morphology and geography/stratigraphy
Instead of saying "there is a flat form and an elevated form," Smith & Rader did the following:
- Lump: They take the names for both the flat (P. texanum) and elevated (P. elevatus) forms and declare them to be junior synonyms of Loriolia rosana.
- Redescribe: They provide a new, detailed description of Loriolia rosana that encompasses all this variation.
- Bias: Because their described specimens came from units 3 and 7 of the Upper Glen Rose, their description is skewed toward the "elevated" form. They do not offer a separate, detailed description of the "flat" form from the Lower Glen Rose or analyze why the two different shapes might exist.
I disagree in classifying the flat form as Loriolia rosana and that it is a different species.
Comparisons:
- Polydiadema: Loriolia is distinguished from Polydiadema by the presence of dense, uniform granulation between primary tubercles, whereas Polydiadema typically lacks this uniform granulation (Smith & Rader, 2009).
