Roadian (earliest Guadalupian, Middle Permian) Radiolarians from the Guadalupe Mountains,West Texas, USA Part I: Albaillellaria and Entactinaria

Abstract

Roadian radiolarians are described from strata exposed in a small quarry (Quarry section) on U.S. Highway 62/180 located 3 km northeast of its junction with Texas Highway 54, Culberson County, Guadalupe Mountains, West Texas. These strata were long considered as Bone Spring Limestone of Leonardian (Early Permian) in age, but in recent years have been assigned to the Williams Ranch Member of the Cutoff Formation of the Roadian Stage (Guadalupian, middle Permian) based on the presence of the ammonoid species Paraceltites elegans. Radiolarians are of excellent preservation and the fauna is very diverse with 29 species of 11 genera described belonging to orders Albaillellaria and Entactinaria.Among them, 15 new species and one new genus, Apachevella, have been described, and five species emended. New species are Campanulithus cutoffi, Albaillella exilis, Pseudoalbaillella pseudoscalprata, P. japonica, P. laevis, Entactinia siciformis, E. longiacus, E. rezedae, Trilonche belli, Entactinosphaera texana, Polyedroentactinia macilenta, P. cancellata, P. porosa, P. bifida, and Kashiwara roadensis. Emended species are Pseudoalbaillella cona Cornell and Simpson, Entactinia parapycnoclada Nazarov and Ormiston, Trilonche tyrrelli (Nazarov and Ormiston), Apachevella capitanensis (Nestell and Nestell), and Wuyia endocarpa (Nazarov and Ormiston). Conodonts are represented by Jinogondolella nankingensis (Jin) with its three subspecies, J. nankingensis nankingensis (Jin), J. nankingensis behnkeni Wardlaw and Nestell and J. nankingensis tenuis Wardlaw, and elements of Sweetina and Hindeodus wordensis Wardlaw.