Lovenia alabamensis Cooke, 1942
Plate: LoAl-10
Series: Oligocene Group: Catahoula Formation: Anahuac
Locale: Damon County: Brazoria Stage: Chattian
Length: 39.1 mm Width: 33.8 mm Height: 16.0 mm
Specimen in photo: TX 2060.1 fragment only
Specimen in photo: NPL 3848.0 from St. Stephenson, Alabama.
University of Texas Non-vertebrate Paleo. Lab.
Repository: Non-vertebrate Paleo. Lab., Univ. of Texas
HOLOTYPE INFO:
Holotype: USNM 499003 (Cooke, 1942).
Locality: Willow Branch, 4 miles from Cullomburg, Choctaw County, Alabama.
Stratigraphy: Chickasawhay Limestone (Late Oligocene).
SYSTEMATIC PALEONTOLOGY – TAXONOMY
Class: Echinoidea Leske, 1778
Subclass: Euechinoidea Bronn, 1860
Infraclass: Irregularia Latreille, 1825
Superorder: Atelostomata Zittel, 1879
Order: Spatangoida L. Agassiz, 1840
Family: Loveniidae Lambert, 1905
Genus: LOVENIA Desor, 1847
Species: Lovenia alabamensis Cooke, 1942
TYPE SPECIES: Spatangus elongatus Gray, 1845 (=Lovenia elongata)
DIAGNOSIS
Test heart-shaped and depressed. Characterized by V-shaped petals that terminate adapically at a distinct internal (apical) fasciole. Large, deeply sunken, imperforate tubercles (camerales) are present in the anterior and anterolateral interambulacra.
STRATIGRAPHICAL OCCURRENCE & DISTRIBUTION
Group: Catahoula (Texas); Vicksburg (Alabama equiv).
Formations: Anahuac Formation (Texas); Chickasawhay Limestone (Alabama/Mississippi).
Stratigraphic Units: Paleogene, Late Oligocene (Chattian).
Counties: Brazoria (Texas); Choctaw, Washington (Alabama); Wayne (Mississippi).
Abundance: Rare in Texas (fragmentary); more common in the eastern Gulf region.
DESCRIPTION
TOP: Length, width, height: 39.1 mm L × 33.8 mm W × 16.0 mm H (Based on Alabama specimen NPL 3848.0).
Top shape: Heart-shaped; emarginate in front, widest in front of the center (Cooke, 1942).
Top domed: Upper surface depressed.
SIDE: Side shape: Margin acutely rounded. Posterior truncation concave (Cooke, 1942).
BOTTOM: Bottom shape: Slightly concave.
Plastron: Very wide (Cooke, 1942).
AMB: Amb shape: Anterior ambulacrum depressed. Petals V-shaped, terminating apically at the apical ("internal") fasciole (Cooke, 1942).
PORE PAIRS: Shape: Pores oval.
Arrangement: Conjugate (Cooke, 1942).
TUBERCLES: Primary Perforated: No (Imperforate).
Primary Crenulate: Yes (implied by family).
Distribution: Groups of large, imperforate, deeply sunken tubercles (camerales) are located in the anterior interambulacra and in the anterior half of the posterolateral interambulacra. A few smaller tubercles are present along the median part of the posterior interambulacrum (Cooke, 1942).
FASCIOLE: Internal: Apical (internal) fasciole present but inconspicuous (Cooke, 1942).
Subanal: Bilobate (Cooke, 1942).
APICAL SYSTEM: Location: Slightly anterior.
Genital pores: Four genital pores, close together.
Plating: Madreporite extending far behind (Cooke, 1942).
PERIPROCT (ANUS): Shape: Oval; wider than high.
Location: Vertical; situated on the posterior truncation (Cooke, 1942).
PERISTOME (MOUTH): Shape: Semilunate.
Location: At the anterior third.
Lip: Posterior lip slightly protruding (Cooke, 1942).
SPINES: Unknown.
SPECIMENS STUDIED & CONDITION:
Named for the state of Alabama, where the type specimens were discovered.
REMARKS & COMPARISONS
Remarks: The presence of the internal fasciole enclosing the apical system is the primary diagnostic feature of the genus Lovenia. The Texas occurrence is based on fragmentary material from Damon Mound, a salt dome locality where Anahuac Formation sediments are brought near the surface.
Comparisons:
Plate: LoAl-10
Series: Oligocene Group: Catahoula Formation: Anahuac
Locale: Damon County: Brazoria Stage: Chattian
Length: 39.1 mm Width: 33.8 mm Height: 16.0 mm
Specimen in photo: TX 2060.1 fragment only
Specimen in photo: NPL 3848.0 from St. Stephenson, Alabama.
University of Texas Non-vertebrate Paleo. Lab.
Repository: Non-vertebrate Paleo. Lab., Univ. of Texas
HOLOTYPE INFO:
Holotype: USNM 499003 (Cooke, 1942).
Locality: Willow Branch, 4 miles from Cullomburg, Choctaw County, Alabama.
Stratigraphy: Chickasawhay Limestone (Late Oligocene).
SYSTEMATIC PALEONTOLOGY – TAXONOMY
Class: Echinoidea Leske, 1778
Subclass: Euechinoidea Bronn, 1860
Infraclass: Irregularia Latreille, 1825
Superorder: Atelostomata Zittel, 1879
Order: Spatangoida L. Agassiz, 1840
Family: Loveniidae Lambert, 1905
Genus: LOVENIA Desor, 1847
Species: Lovenia alabamensis Cooke, 1942
TYPE SPECIES: Spatangus elongatus Gray, 1845 (=Lovenia elongata)
DIAGNOSIS
Test heart-shaped and depressed. Characterized by V-shaped petals that terminate adapically at a distinct internal (apical) fasciole. Large, deeply sunken, imperforate tubercles (camerales) are present in the anterior and anterolateral interambulacra.
STRATIGRAPHICAL OCCURRENCE & DISTRIBUTION
Group: Catahoula (Texas); Vicksburg (Alabama equiv).
Formations: Anahuac Formation (Texas); Chickasawhay Limestone (Alabama/Mississippi).
Stratigraphic Units: Paleogene, Late Oligocene (Chattian).
Counties: Brazoria (Texas); Choctaw, Washington (Alabama); Wayne (Mississippi).
Abundance: Rare in Texas (fragmentary); more common in the eastern Gulf region.
DESCRIPTION
TOP: Length, width, height: 39.1 mm L × 33.8 mm W × 16.0 mm H (Based on Alabama specimen NPL 3848.0).
Top shape: Heart-shaped; emarginate in front, widest in front of the center (Cooke, 1942).
Top domed: Upper surface depressed.
SIDE: Side shape: Margin acutely rounded. Posterior truncation concave (Cooke, 1942).
BOTTOM: Bottom shape: Slightly concave.
Plastron: Very wide (Cooke, 1942).
AMB: Amb shape: Anterior ambulacrum depressed. Petals V-shaped, terminating apically at the apical ("internal") fasciole (Cooke, 1942).
PORE PAIRS: Shape: Pores oval.
Arrangement: Conjugate (Cooke, 1942).
TUBERCLES: Primary Perforated: No (Imperforate).
Primary Crenulate: Yes (implied by family).
Distribution: Groups of large, imperforate, deeply sunken tubercles (camerales) are located in the anterior interambulacra and in the anterior half of the posterolateral interambulacra. A few smaller tubercles are present along the median part of the posterior interambulacrum (Cooke, 1942).
FASCIOLE: Internal: Apical (internal) fasciole present but inconspicuous (Cooke, 1942).
Subanal: Bilobate (Cooke, 1942).
APICAL SYSTEM: Location: Slightly anterior.
Genital pores: Four genital pores, close together.
Plating: Madreporite extending far behind (Cooke, 1942).
PERIPROCT (ANUS): Shape: Oval; wider than high.
Location: Vertical; situated on the posterior truncation (Cooke, 1942).
PERISTOME (MOUTH): Shape: Semilunate.
Location: At the anterior third.
Lip: Posterior lip slightly protruding (Cooke, 1942).
SPINES: Unknown.
SPECIMENS STUDIED & CONDITION:
- TX 2060.1: Fragment only. Collected from Damon Mound, Brazoria County, Texas.
- NPL 3848.0: Complete specimen from St. Stephens, Alabama (used for measurements).
Named for the state of Alabama, where the type specimens were discovered.
REMARKS & COMPARISONS
Remarks: The presence of the internal fasciole enclosing the apical system is the primary diagnostic feature of the genus Lovenia. The Texas occurrence is based on fragmentary material from Damon Mound, a salt dome locality where Anahuac Formation sediments are brought near the surface.
Comparisons:
- Lovenia clarki: L. alabamensis resembles the Miocene species L. clarki (Lambert) but is generally smaller and differs in the distribution of the large dorsal tubercles.
