Ellobiopsidae-what is it?

[Paul Hargraves]

Hi Linda,
        The ellobiopsids are one of many "incertae cedis" groups.  Noone
really knows what their phylogenetic affinities are.  However, it
appears to be reasonably certain that their prior inclusion in the
Pyrrhophyta is incorrect; i.e., they are not dinoflagellates. Surely, a prime
disseration topic for a student lurking
out there.  Ellobiopsids get a mention in the current conventional wisdom
publication:  Fensome, R.A. et al., 1993. A Classification of living and
fossil dinoflagellates. Micropaleontology Spec. Pub. 7,  351p.(ISSN
0160-2071.

Paul Hargraves

On Thu, 19 Oct 1995, Linda Stathoplos wrote:

> Taxacomers:
> I'm processing a dataset of plankton samples from the Indian
> Ocean that has a taxon called Ellobiopsidae. I don't know
> what this is. Is it (possibly) a variant spelling of the
> Gastropod family Ellobiidae? Any clues would be greatly
> appreciated. (None of my general books on plankton taxa have
> any clues.)
> --
> Dr. Linda Stathoplos            Phone: 202-606-1139
> NOAA, NODC, E/OC52              Fax:   202-606-4586
> 1315 East West Highway          Internet:
> Silver Spring, MD 20910-3282    lstathoplos at nodc.noaa.gov