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Anew relational taxonomic database for planktonic foraminifera ("pforams@mikrotax") has been constructed and is now freely available online at http://www.mikrotax.org. It represents amajor advance from its predecessor, the CHRONOS online taxonomic database, which has served the research community since 2005. The benefits of the new database to the research and industrial biostratigraphic communities are many, as it will serve as an immediately accessible taxonomic guide and reference for specialists and non-specialists alike by providing access to a wealth of information and images from original authors and from expertswho have inserted recent authoritative updates to planktonic foraminiferal taxonomy, phylogeny and biostratigraphy. The database will be continually updated and used as a guide for training current and future generations of students and professionals who will be able to self-educate on planktonic foraminiferal taxonomy and biostratigraphy. Further investigation of species traditionally included in the Cretaceous genera Heterohelix, Globigerinelloides, Marginotruncana, and Globotruncana is required to exclude the use of polyphyletic morphotaxa. The taxonomy for Paleogene planktonic foraminifera is quite stable following publication of the Paleocene, Eocene, and Oligocene taxonomic atlases, but revisions to the taxonomy and phylogeny of Neogene taxa are needed to incorporate results from genetic sequencing studies and recent biostratigraphic observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scale-bearing siliceous nannoplankton are occasionally encountered in surface seawater samples, but are rarely identified or illustrated. In this study, the morphological diversity of the haptophyte Hyalolithus neolepis and the enigmatic Petasaria heterolepis are investigated in scanning and transmission electron microscopes using materials from around theworld. Results show that H. neolepis scales exhibit variation in the width of the marginal hyaline area, but intermediate specimens make separation of the two morphologies difficult. Petasaria heterolepis scales also show differences, in the presence of tubercle rows in the hyaline area and degree of hyaline areal coverage, but separation into discrete varieties is difficult at present. However, specimens with scales bearing a protuberance are considered to be distinct enough to warrant the erection of a new species, Petasaria protuberans Jordan,Malinverno, Šupraha, Thomsen et Young sp. nov. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To help understand potential biases in coccolithophore paleo-biodiversity estimates various aspects of their biology are reviewed based on the recent monographic guide to extant coccolithophore taxonomy and research developed within the CODENET project. The evidence for life-cycles in coccolithophores involving two biomineralized phases is reviewed in detail, and it is shown that these are likely to have been pervasive through the fossil record of coccolithophores. The extent of polymorphism in extant coccolithophores is reviewed and a surprisingly strong correlation with phylogeny is documented, in particular it is shown that there is a very strong correlation between polymorphism in heterococcolith and holococcolith-bearing phases. Recent documentation of (pseudo)cryptic speciation in coccolithophores is discussed and it is argued that this provides considerable support for the rather fine morphological taxonomy adopted by nannofossil paleontologists, but also means that accurate recognition of species in the fossil record is an almost impossible goal. Finally the diversity of extant coccolithophores is compared with that recorded in Holocene sediments and it is shown that the majority of extant diversity is represented by small rare species with very low preservation potential. It is argued that this is the most serious potential biasing mechanism for study of paleobiodiversity changes since estimates of diversity at any time will be strongly influenced by the availability of well-preserved shelf sediments and of the intensity of their study by electron microscopy. Moreover, secular changes in coccolith size in relation to environmental change could significantly affect the preserved diversity of coccolithophores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A comprehensive classification of extant haptophytes is presented, with full citations of all taxa from species to class level within the division Haptophyta. Almost 100 notes discuss aspects of classification and nomenclature, with particular attention being paid to problems related to recognition of life-cycle associations. One new genus Holococcolithophora is described and six species are recombined in it. Appendices list conserved and rejected names, the type species of genera, and basionyms of recombined species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]