Glottidia (Brachiopoda: Lingulidae) from the Eocene La Meseta Formation, Seymour Island, Antarctica

The specimens previously described as Lingula antarctica Buckman from late Eocene strata on Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula, should be assigned to the genus Glottidia. The morphological features and taxonomic characters of G. antarctica are described and illustrated and compared with those of other known species of Glottidia. A full description of G. antarctica is provided and the diagnosis of the genus is emended. Variations in the disposition of the septa and in the shape of the pedicle groove are viewed as evolutionary features among the Glottidia. Glottidia antarctica probably lived in shallow, nearshore warm-temperate waters of normal salinity, perhaps in the intertidal zone. The presence of Glottidia rather than Lingula in the Antarctic Peninsula is consistent with the known geographical distribution of fossil and living Glottidia, i.e. restricted to the coasts of the American continent and Europe where Glottidia has been recorded in strata of Tertiary age.