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A new nannofossil species Vagalapilla rutledgei – fame at last?!

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dave rutledge petrostrat director Nanopaleontologist stratigrapher staff photo

“I’m honoured to have a Nannofossil named after me, and particularly pleased it’s from the Early Cretaceous!”

Dave Rutledge (Director/Nannopalaeontologist, PetroStrat)

The renowned Swiss Nannopalaeontologist Eric de Kaenel has described many new species during his prolific publishing career. One of his latest new species, Vagalapilla rutledgei, is named after our own Dave Rutledge (Director/Nannopalaeontologist, PetroStrat), who completed his PhD in Early Cretaceous Nannofossils in 1994 and has worked in industry since then.

Dave commented “I’m honoured to have a Nannofossil named after me, and particularly pleased it’s from the Early Cretaceous! While this is a newly described taxon it is not entirely unfamiliar –  Covington & Wise (1987) illustrated this form as Eiffellithus? sp.2 and I recorded the same form in the early 1990s under the informal name “Eiffellithus sp. 1” in my PhD material. It’s great that Eric has finally published this species – even better with my name!”

Industrial pressures typically limit our geoscientists ability to publish their findings, including any new fossil taxa we may encounter which are often assigned informal names. However, we maintain strong links with academic circles and are keen to participate in research projects whenever possible.

A new nannofossil species Vagalapilla rutledgei Holotype Photograph David Rutledge of PetroStrat

The holotype of Vagalapilla rutledgei, described by Eric De Kaenel from the Barremian of the Swiss Jura Mountains (in De Kaenel, E., Mojon, P.O. & Pictet, A., 2020. Swiss Journal of Palaeontology). Reproduced under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Read the full paper on Springer Open

De Kaenel, E., Mojon, PO. & Pictet, A. New biostratigraphical data (calcareous nannofossils, ammonites) and Early to Late Barremian transition in the Urgonien Jaune facies and Marnes de la Russille complex of the Swiss Jura Mountains. Swiss J Palaeontol 139, 6 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13358-020-00209-5

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