The genus Keppleritiana gen. nov. (Stephanoceratidae, Ammonoidea) from the Upper Bajocian of the Northern Caucasus

Abstract

A new ammonite genus of the subfamily Garantianinae, family Stephanoceratidae, from the Upper Bajocian Strenoceras niortense Zone in the Bolshoi Zelenchuk River basin (Karachay-Cherkessia), with two new species from two different localities, is established. The type species Keppleritiana rostovtsevi gen. et sp. nov. is homeomorphic to some species of the Upper Bathonian–Lower Callovian genus Kepplerites (Fam. Kosmoceratidae) but is distinguished by the presence of a ventral furrow in adults. An isolated valve of an aptychus possibly belonging to this species is illustrated. Keppleritiana graebensteini sp. nov. has a more archaic morphology and is apparently ancestral to the type species. The macroconchs and microconchs of both species are described.