ABSTRACT: A specimen of Loftusia persica Brady is described that contains as a part of its inner test a specimen of Turborotalia pomeroli (Toumarkine and Bolli), which is a very distinctive Middle to Late Eocene planktonic foraminifera. Although originally described as a “Tertiary” form, more recently Loftusia persica has been considered to be restricted to theMaastrichtian. Anumber of scenarios that could have led to the inclusion of an Eocene planktonic foraminifera deep within the test of a specimen of Loftusia are discussed, and it is concluded that the most probable interpretation is that Loftusia persica reappeared as a “Lazarus” species in the Eocene having survived the Cretaceous-Paleocene mass extinction, but was eventually driven to extinction by the orogeny that led to the formation of the Zagros Mountains.

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