Genus 201. Staurocyclia,[1] Haeckel, 1881, Prodromus, p. 458.
Definition.—Coccodiscida with four solid radial spines on the margin of the disk, crossed in two equatorial diameters perpendicular one to another. Medullary shell simple.
The genus Staurocyclia is characterised by four radial spines on the margin of the disk, which are opposite in pairs and situated in two equatorial diameters, commonly perpendicular one to another. They form therefore a rectangular cross (rarely more or less irregular). The genus corresponds exactly to Staurodictya in the family Porodiscida. The medullary shell is simple.
1. Staurocyclia cruciata, n. sp. (Pl. 37, fig. 1).
Phacoid shell two and a half times as broad as the medullary shell, surrounded by six to eight regular rings, which are divided by fifty to seventy piercing beams into square chambers. Pores regular, circular; six on the radius of the phacoid shell, one single pore on each chamber. Four crossed radial spines, arising from the medullary shell by thin bases, prolonged over the dentated margin as four strong quadrangular swords, as long as the radius of the disk.
Dimensions.—Diameter of the disk (with eight rings) 0.23, of the phacoid shell 0.09, of the medullary shell 0.035.
Habitat—Pacific, central area, Station 267, depth 2700 fathoms.
2. Staurocyclia serrata, n. sp.
Phacoid shell twice as broad as the medullary shell, surrounded by three to four spongy rings, which are divided by thirty to forty radial beams into irregular chambers. Pores in the phacoid shell regular, circular, five on its radius; in the chambered spongy girdle much smaller and irregular. Margin dentated, with four crossed, very large, quadrangular spines, as long as the radius of the disk, with wing-shaped, serrated edges.
Dimensions.—Diameter of the disk (with four rings) 0.2, of the phacoid shell 0.1, of the medullary shell 0.05.
Habitat.—Fossil in the rocks of Barbados.
3. Staurocyclia phacostaurus, n. sp. (Pl. 37, figs. 2, 3).
Phacoid shell two and a quarter times as broad as the medullary shell, connected with it by twelve radial beams (four equatorial and eight divergent) and surrounded by one single ring, which is divided by forty radial beams into regular chambers. Pores regular, honeycomb-like in the
- ↑ Staurocyclia = Circular shell with four crossed spines; σταυρός, κύκλια.
