MISSISSIPPIAN BISERIAMMINACEAE AND THEIR EVOLUTIONARY DEVELOPMENT

The foraminiferal superfamily Biseriamminaceae consists of the families Biseriamminidae (agglutinated wall) and Globivalvulinidae (secreted wall). The ancestral genus Biseriammina is endemic to the Urals, where its stratigraphic range is now extended from the Tournaisian into the early Visean, due to the inclusion of Lipinella within the genus. Other taxonomic changes in the Biseriamminidae include 1) suppression of Dzhamansorina, ?Admiranda, and ?Ulanbela under Koktjubina, 2) emendation of Koktjubina with descriptions of K. windsorensis n. comb., K.? grata n. comb., and K.? atlantica n. sp., and 3) establishment of a new genus Parabiseriella, composed of P. bristolensis n. comb. and P. moroccoensis n. sp. The genera Biseriella and Globivalvulina are the only Mississippian representatives of the Globivalvulinidae that evolved from the Biseriamminidae in the late Visean. Newly described species of those genera include B. scotica, B. paramoderata, and G. paraeogranulosa. The proposed phylogenetic lineage for the Mississippian Biseriamminaceae of Biseriammina-?Koktjubinal Parabiseriella-Biseriella-Globivalvulina developed in the Paleotethys followed by migration into the American Realm. Biseriamminidae have limited value as global biostratigraphic markers, unlike the Globivalvulinidae that have much greater potential, particularly from the Serpukhovian onward.