THE DINOFLAGELLATE CANNINGINOPSIS COOKSON AND EISENACK 1962 FROM THE CRETACEOUS OF THE PERTH AND GIPPSLAND BASINS, AUSTRALIA

The morphology of Canninginopsis Cookson & Eisenack 1962 has been re-assessed through examination of the type species, C. denticulata Cookson & Eisenack 1962, from the Mid Cretaceous of the Perth Basin, and C. bretonica sp. nov. from the Late Cretaceous of the Perth and Gippsland Basins. The genus now includes forms with a greater variation in the ventrodorsal outline of the autocyst, surface sculpture, and distribution and morphology of characters marking the paratabulation. The widespread distribution of taxa within the genus combined with their distinctive morphologies and restricted stratigraphic ranges make them important index species in the Australian Cretaceous. © AAP.