Autor: Robert A Fensome

This volume is the first of a new series which has evolved from the famous "Katalog der fossilen Dinoflagellaten, Hystrichosphären und verwandten Mikrofossilien" produced by Alfred Eisenack, one of the great pioneers of micropaleontology and co-workers Karl Klement and Göran Kjellström. The initial emphasis in the new series is on taxa not included in the original series, but it is intended eventually to include all fossil dinoflagellate taxa. There are several major differences in format between the new series and the original "Katalog". Changes are necessary due largely to the vastly increased amount of published information now available on fossil dinoflagellates. For example, specimen synonymy lists are not provided since the significant increase in taxonomic publications in recent years make the compilation of such synonymies impractical. However, reference is made in the appropriate entries to publications in which such lists appear. Other differences in the new series include the following: 1) taxa of specific and lower rank are arranged in the alphabetical order of their final (or lowest ranking) epithet instead of being arranged in alphabetic order within each genus. The assignment of dinoflagellate species to genera may change but final epithets do not change once established, with the exception of possible minor orthographic corrections to their endings in order to agree with the gender of the genus when new combinations are proposed. 2) the basic language of the new series is English, rather than German. Diagnoses and descriptions are always provided in English as well as in the original language if that language is other than English and is written in, or can be easily transliterated into, the Roman alphabet. 3) entries are, or will be, provided for all taxa based on validly published names, regardless of whether the present editors, or any other author, regard them as taxonomic junior synonyms. Thus, inclusion of a taxon in this Catalog does not necessarily indicate endorsement. 4) wherever possible, photomicrographs of the holotype of each species and infraspecific taxon are included. Additional photomicrographs and linedrawings, where available and appropriate, in order to help illustrate the original author's concept, may also be provided. The original "Katalog" also contained photomicrographs of the holotype for many taxa, but for others the holotype was not illustrated and sometimes only an interpretive line drawing by a subsequent author was included. 5) A completely updated reference list is included at the end of each volume of the new series. In the first volume of the new series, we present entries for all genera of fossil dinoflagellates which are cited in "Fossil Dinoflagellates: Index to Genera and Species 1989 Edition" (Lentin and Williams, 1989), but were not included in the original series of the Eisenack Katalog and, additionally, all new taxa introduced by Below (1981a) and Yun Hyesu (1981). The book will, therefore, be again of great help to all geologists that have to determine the stratigraphy and age of sediments.