202 Abstracts

osts), no cranial kinesis was possible in the Gerrothorax

skull, and therefore suction feeding in Gerrothorax was
not as elaborate as in these extant forms.
S7 The use of -CT in the investigation of teratologies
and bauplan modifcations in Larger Benthic
For aminifer a
Wger J .
1
*, E. Wolfgring
1
, A. Briguglio
1
, C. Ferrndez
Caadell
2
& J . Hohenegger
1
*E-mail: julia.woeger@univie.ac. at
1
Institut fr Palontologie, Universitt Wien, Althahnstr.
14, A-1090 Wien, Austria
2
Dept. Estratigrafa, Paleontologia i Geocincies Ma-
rines, Universitat de Barcelona, C/Mart i Franqus, s/n
08028 Barcelona, Spain
Teratologies and extremely aberrant forms of Larger Ben-
thic Foraminifera, observed in loose sediments or in thin
sections, have been documented ever since the begin-
ning of the studies of Foraminifera. Growth deviations,
multispiral growth, conjoined tests, and double (or triple)
contemporary equatorial layers are rare evidences but
known facts. Although these deviations from the bauplan
are known since the 19
th
century, very few studies have
been undertaken to better understand the occurrence of
such bizarre geometries. One problem lies in the broad
use of thin sections in the investigation of Foraminifera,
which can only lead to a partial understanding of the
phenomenon because these bauplan modifcations are
either missed, found by chance or misunderstood due to
the fact that only one random - possibly very mislead-
ing - cross section of the structure is visible. The second
problem with thin sections is the destruction of some-
times rare specimens precluding further investigation.
It is only very recently that new technologies such as
the -CT and modern 3D-image processing software
allow the detailed study of these phenomena. In the
search for causes and consequences of these peculiar
morphologies, the frst important step is to characterize
them and to fnd links connecting the deviations to bio-
logical and/or ecological factors. While according to
recent research the phenomenon of multispiral growth
in nummulitids is assumed to be linked to the incom-
patibility between the Archimedean geometry of the test
and the exponential growth of the protoplasm, very little
speculations have arisen so far concerning the underly-
ing causes of conjoined twins in nummulitids.
Conjoined tests have been observed in Recent as well
as in fossil Foraminifera, both in smaller benthic genera,
such as Ammonia and larger benthic forms such as Num-
mulites. These so-called conjoined tests are individuals
that seem to have a normal individual development un-
til a rather advanced stage in their ontogeny when they
fuse their tests. Several conjoined tests of Nummulites
have been scanned so far, joined at different ontogenetic
stages, (e.g. chamber 33 to chamber 52). After the fu-
sion of their tests, they form new chambers from a com-
mon outer lamellae sharing the marginal chord. None of
these conjoined individuals seems to be affected in the
continuation of their ontogenetic growth.
S5 Multispir al growth in nummulitids: a
three-dimensional approach
Wolfgring E.
1
*, J . Wger
1
, A. Briguglio
1
, C. Ferrndez
Caadell
2
& J . Hohenegger
1
*E-mail: erik.wolfgring@univie.ac.at
1
Institut fr Palontologie, Universitt Wien, Althanstr.
14, A-1090 Vienna, Austria
2
Dept. Estratigrafa, Paleontologia i Geocincies Ma-
rines, Universitat de Barcelona, C/Mart i Franqus, s/n
08028 Barcelona, Spain
Like most Larger Benthic Foraminifera, nummulitids fol-
low very strict morphogenetic rules. Multispiral growth is a
common phenomenon among larger species of Nummulites.
This work tries to quantify this growing strategy, its occur-
rence in this group and its consequences in the test architec-
ture and how it infuences the palaeobiology of the cell.
The use of micro CT scans permits the measurement
of any morphological detail, allows the quantifcation
of the lumina of chambers and chamberlets, and may
provide an exact tridimensional model of the specimen
including all details often missed by thin sections.
These models might shed light on the cell ontogeny in
multispiral coiled nummulitids. Observing chamber volume
sequences, it seems that even taking alar prolongations into
account, chambers arranged in a single Archimedean spi-
ral cannot provide the cell with the exponential increase in
accommodation space which is commonly found in larger
forams. In Archimedean spirals the increase of chamber vol-
ume is defned by a linear function. The alar prolongations
add progressively to the chamber's volume but the increase
is also linear. Therefore, the addition of a secondary spiral is
the logical consequence of increasing the accommodation
space without changing the bauplan morphology.
Cyclic and abrupt variations along the chamber vol-
ume sequence have been found in several specimens.
Cyclic variation can be linked to the environmental in-
fuence affecting the cell during its growth and can help
to understand the lifetime of the cell, whereas abrupt
changes, such as a sudden increase in chamber dimen-
sions, are probably related to internal factors.
This study, which matches the longevity of such pro-
tists with the quantitative approach here proposed, might
be the only way to tackle the ontogeny of such giant cells.
Furthermore, the investigation of cyclic variations within
203 Abstracts
such large tests provides a record of Eocene environmen-
tal changes over a several years.
S8 Fluorescent shell colour patterns in bivalves from
the Middle Tr iassic Muschelkalk
Wolkenstein K.
E-mail: klaus.wolkenstein@geo.uni-goettingen.de
Geoscience Centre, University of Gttingen, Gold-
schmidtstr.3, 37077 Gttingen, Germany
UV-light-induced fuorescence has been widely used
to reveal or to enhance residual shell colour patterns of
Neogene and Paleogene molluscs. However, very few
examples of fuorescent colour patterns are known from
Mesozoic marine shells. Here, the widespread occur-
rence of fuorescence in colour patterns of the pectinid
Pleuronectites laevigatus and other bivalves from the
Middle Triassic Muschelkalk of Germany is reported.
The scallop P. laevigatus represents one of the
most common fossils of the Upper Muschelkalk. This
species is well known for the preservation of colour
patterns, which in general consist of radial brownish
colour bands and less common zigzag patterns. By
using UV-light, obscure or weak colour patterns can
be revealed, illustrating that colour patterns are more
abundant and much more diverse in P. laevigatus
than previously known. In addition to patterns com-
posed of radial lines and bands, numerous variations
of zigzag and chevron patterns, as well as uniform
colouration can be found. The diversity of colour pat-
terns in P. laevigatus is similar throughout the Up-
per Muschelkalk, and shows no biogeographic bias
within the Germanic Basin.
A remarkable feature of the colour patterns of P. laevi-
gatus is the presence of different fuorescence colours.
UV-light-induced colours range from yellow through
orange to red with examples of almost all transition
colours. Some specimens show no fuorescence at all.
Because fuorescence properties, in contrast to colour
pattern diversity, correlate with specifc geographic
areas, and present-day pectinids show no fuorescence
of colour patterns, the fuorescence of P. laevigatus is
interpreted as a diagenetic feature.
Fluorescent colour patterns could also be detected in
the epifaunal bivalves Entolium discites, Leptochondria
alberti and Placunopsis ostracina.
The results demonstrate that fossil invertebrates
contain valuable information beyond morphology.
In addition to the investigated specimens from the
Muschelkalk, fluorescent colour patterns may be ob-
served in other Mesozoic or even Palaeozoic marine
shells and may provide information on the diversity
of species and on the diagenetic history of fossils.
S3 Widespread occurrence of boron-containing
or ganic pigments in the Jur assic red alga Solenopora
Wolkenstein K.
E-mail: klaus.wolkenstein@geo.uni-goettingen.de
Geoscience Centre, University of Gttingen, Gold-
schmidtstr. 3, 37077 Gttingen, Germany
Recently, an exceptional group of boron-containing or-
ganic pigments has been discovered in pink coloured
specimens of the J urassic calcareous red alga Solenopora
jurassica. By modern analytical chemistry the fossil pig-
ments, named borolithochromes, have been characterized
as boric acid esters with two phenolic moieties. The pig-
ments are highly unusual because of the presence of the
element boron, which is rarely found in natural products
and has been never found in fossil organic compounds.
The borolithochromes represent the frst specifc pig-
ments from a fossil red alga, however, no analogy with
present-day red algal pigments or other known biomol-
ecules of living organisms was found.
Pink colouration of Solenopora specimens has been re-
ported from a number of localities in Europe. In order to
determine the wider occurrence of the borolithochromes,
organic extracts of a set of distinctly pink to reddish col-
oured specimens representing different localities, strati-
graphic horizons and species were analysed by high-per-
formance liquid chromatographymass spectrometry.
Preliminary results indicate that the borolithochromes
are common pigments of Solenopora specimens from the
Jurassic of Europe. The characteristic pigments were detected
in specimens from localities in France, Great Britain, Swit-
zerland, Poland and Spain from Bathonian to Kimmeridgian
strata. In addition to S. jurassica, the borolithochromes could
be determined in S. helvetica andS. condensata.
S1 Towards adaptable, interactive and quantitative
paleogeogr aphic maps
Wright N.
1
*, S. Zahirovic
1
, R. D. Mller
1
& M. Seton
1
*E-mail: nwri5277@uni.sydney.edu.au
1
EarthByte Group, School of Geosciences, University of
Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
A variety of paleogeographic atlases have been con-
structed, with applications from paleoclimate, ocean cir-
culation and faunal radiation models to resource explo-
ration; yet their uncertainties remain diffcult to assess,
as they are generally presented as low-resolution static
maps. We present a methodology for ground-truthing
paleogeographic maps, by linking the GPlates plate re-
construction tool to the global Paleobiology Database
TERRA NOSTRA
Schriften der GeoUnion Alfred-Wegener-Stiftung 2012/3
Centenary Meeting of the
Palontologische
Gesellschaft
Programme, Abstracts, and Field Guides
24.09. 29.09.2012
Museum fr Naturkunde Berlin
Edited by Florian Witzmann & Martin Aberhan
Cover-Abstract.indd 1 24.08.12 15:52