Coniacian (Late Cretaceous) echinoids from the southern Tethyan shelf (NE Algeria) with remarks on their palaeobiology and palaeobiogeography

Coniacian (Late Cretaceous) echinoids from the southern Tethyan shelf (NE Algeria) with remarks on their palaeobiology and palaeobiogeography | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Coniacian (Late Cretaceous) echinoids from the southern Tethyan shelf (NE Algeria) with remarks on their palaeobiology and palaeobiogeography Nils Schlüter, Rafika Slami, Madani Benyoucef, Abdelmoumen Garah, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4571814/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Thirteen echinoid taxa from Coniacian marl-limestone alternations in three sections south and east of Djebel Metlili, on the southwestern margin of the Aures Mountains in northeastern Algeria, are described: Rachiosoma rectilineatum , Phymosoma tamarinense , Phymosoma cf. mansour , Gomphechinus meslei , Coenholectypus serialis , Coenholectypus subcrassus, Parapygus coquandi , Petalobrissus trigonopygus , Petalobrissus rimula , Hemiaster sp., and Mecaster fourneli . Two taxa are newly described herein, Orthopsis metliliae sp. nov. and a new genus and species referred to the family Phymosomatoidae is erected here, Triboporus luluatus gen et sp. nov. A large amount of well-labeled material, comprising 579 specimens, was collected, with the fauna being dominated by the spatangoid Mecaster fourneli . The fauna exhibits typical characteristics of the Tethyan realm at the genus level; however, at the species level, most taxa are restricted to Algeria, with some also found in adjacent countries such as Tunisia and Egypt. The biostratigraphic framework relies on ammonites and inoceramids, indicating a lower to middle Coniacian age. Echinoidea Coniacian Cretaceous North Africa Palaeobiogeography Palaeobiology Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4571814","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":321389129,"identity":"c9cb1de7-1990-43a1-825c-070c19ce2dac","order_by":0,"name":"Nils 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Palaeobiology","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4571814/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4571814/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThirteen echinoid taxa from Coniacian marl-limestone alternations in three sections south and east of Djebel Metlili, on the southwestern margin of the Aures Mountains in northeastern Algeria, are described: \u003cem\u003eRachiosoma rectilineatum\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003ePhymosoma tamarinense\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003ePhymosoma\u003c/em\u003e cf. \u003cem\u003emansour\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eGomphechinus meslei\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eCoenholectypus serialis\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eCoenholectypus subcrassus, Parapygus coquandi\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003ePetalobrissus trigonopygus\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003ePetalobrissus rimula\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eHemiaster\u003c/em\u003e sp., and 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Two taxa are newly described herein, \u003cem\u003eOrthopsis metliliae\u003c/em\u003e sp. nov. and a new genus and species referred to the family Phymosomatoidae is erected here, \u003cem\u003eTriboporus luluatus\u003c/em\u003e gen et sp. nov. A large amount of well-labeled material, comprising 579 specimens, was collected, with the fauna being dominated by the spatangoid \u003cem\u003eMecaster fourneli\u003c/em\u003e. The fauna exhibits typical characteristics of the Tethyan realm at the genus level; however, at the species level, most taxa are restricted to Algeria, with some also found in adjacent countries such as Tunisia and Egypt. 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