Elphidium bartletti

Elphidium bartletti (Cushman 1933)

Elphidium bartletti Cushman 1933, p 4 pl 1 fig 9; Knudsen 1971, p 271 pl 20 figs 1-4.
Elphidium goesi Stschedrina 1946. Saidova 1961, p 80 pl 24 fig 166; Fursenko et al. 1979, p 177 pl 43 fig 4, pl 45 figs 1-10.

 

Elphidium bartletti 1
  • Side view, scale bar 0.1 mm.
  • Collected: summer 1991, RV Akademik Karpinski, SW Kara Sea, 27mwd.

Remarks:

Common for shallow Arctic shelves (<50m), tolerant of brackish environments (salinities as low as 25-30‰). The granular calcite in the umbilical region and on the sutures possibly serves to crush open diatom frustules by dragging them between the tuberculi (cf. Alexander and Banner 1984).

This species is distinguished from the other elphidiids by having a star-like granulated umbilical area, regularly spaced sutural fossettes, and 9 chambers in the last whorl. Adult tests are commonly larger than those of other elphidiid species. An important distinguishing characteristic in the juveniles is the broad and inflated apertural face.