Revised evolutionary systematics of the Cretaceous planktic foraminifera described by C.G. Ehrenberg

Thorough restudy of the Cretaceous planktic foraminifera in the Ehrenberg Collection shows that they belong to 13 species: Spiroplecta americana (Ehrenberg 1841), S clarae–new name (ex S. americana Ehrenberg 1844), Laeviheterohelix euryconus (Ehrenberg 1854), Ehrenbergites striata (Ehrenberg 1838), Lazarusina lazarusi–new directional lineage and new species, Liuenella porulosum (Ehrenberg 1854), Allotheca megathyra Ehrenberg 1841, A. globulosa (Ehrenberg 1838), A. asperum (Ehrenberg 1854), Vanhintella oligosticta (Ehrenberg 1854), V. globulosum (Ehrenberg 1854), Dorbignya cretacea (d'Orbigny 1840), and Edgarinella mississippica (Ehrenberg 1854); they are included into seven directional and two iterative lineages. Five directional lineages are new: Ehrenbergites, Lazarusina, Vanhintella, Dorbignya, and Edgarinella. A new type of lineage with significance in evolutionary classification is recognized: the iterative lineage, which is characterized by the iterative evolution of a particular feature from the initiating species (e.g., planispiral coil from trochospiral coil).