The halobiid bivalve genus Enteropleura and a new species from the Middle Anisian of Guangxi, Southern China

Enteropleura is a short−ranged early Middle Triassic bivalve genus, of importance with regard to biostratigraphy and the phylogeny of the Halobiidae. It comprises five species from the Alps, the Dinarides, Nevada, and southwestern China. Enteropleura walleri sp. nov. from the Fengshan District, northwestern Guangxi, southwestern China, occurs in the central area of the Triassic Nanpanjiang Basin. The new species is of late Middle Anisian age, penecontemporaneous to the species from Europe and Nevada. Morphologically, E. walleri sp. nov. is similar to Enteropleura jenksi from Nevada, Enteropleura bittneri from Austria, and Enteropleura lamellosa from Croatia, but it differs significantly from Enteropleura guembeli from Hungary. Two species−groups of Enteropleura thus may be differentiated, E. guembeli group and E. bittneri group. Re−examination of E. guembeli reported from the Anisian basin slope facies in Guizhou, southwestern China, confirms its taxonomic status.