TORTAGUTTUS-STILOENSIS, A NEW SPECIES OF BENTHIC FORAMINIFERA FROM THE MIDDLE PLEISTOCENE OF CALABRIA, ITALY

Tortaguttus stiloensis, a new species of benthic unilocular foraminife ra of the suborder Lagenina, is described from Middle Pleistocene mari ne sediments of Calabria, Italy. This species is characterized by radi ating elevated costae on the surface of a double marginal carinae conn ected by numerous cross-struts. Previously known occurrences of Tortag uttus are restricted to the Pacific rim. However, the occurrence of To rtaguttus stiloensis in the Mediteranean region indicates that this ge nus is cosmopolitan in neritic-depth waters. The widespread distributi on of species referable to Tortaguttus so soon after its appearance in the Quaternary indicates either a highly efficient dispersal mechanis m or that the genus has a much longer and yet unrecorded fossil record .