REVISION OF THE ALATOCONCHIDAE - A REMARKABLE FAMILY OF PERMIAN BIVALVES
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Genera and species in the family Alatoconchidae are described and reillustrated, including a major revision of the type genus, and a family concept is established that transfers them from the Megalodontacea to the Ambonychiacea. Saikraconcha n. gen., with S. tunisiensis n. sp. as type species, and Dereconcha n. subgen., with S. (D.) kamparensis n. sp. as type species, are described. Two lineages are present in the family, with one including Shikamaia and its subgenera Alatoconcha and Tanchintongia, and the other including Saikraconcha and its subgenus Dereconcha. Both lineages show similar evolutionary change in form. Alatoconchids are limited in occurrence to the Old World Permian Tethyan province, having a distribution similar to that of the verbeekinid fusulinaceans. Rapid evolution species, and their distinctive form, make them stratigraphically useful in the Tethyan province. -from Authors
