<em>POROSPHAERA</em> (PORIFERA), A GLOBULAR SPONGE FROM THE UPPER JURASSIC OF THE CENTRAL IRAN

Abstract

Porosphaera, an abundant small spherical calcisponge, well known from Cretaceous strata of Europe, was found in Middle and Upper Jurassic deposits of east-central Iran. This is the first record of Porosphaera from the Jurassic, except for a questionable occurrence of the genus from the Upper Jurassic of Canada, described by Jansa et al. (1982). The following species are new: P. regularis n. sp., P. biporata n. sp., P.? labyrinthica n. sp., and P.? asymmetrica n. sp.

Keywords

• Calcisponges
• Systematics
• Jurassic
• Iran