Portatrochammina bharatensis sp. nov., a new textulariid benthic foraminifer from Jaitapur Creek, Maharashtra, west coast of India, Arabian Sea

A new living multi-chambered textulariid benthic foraminifer belonging to genus Portatrochammina is here described from the Jaitapur Creek, Ratnagiri District, Maharashtra, India (Arabian Sea). The new species Portatrochammina bharatensis n. sp. is characterized by a low trochospiral, chamber arrangement, moderate size test (0.3–0.5 mm diameter), with 5–5.5 subglobular gradually enlarging chambers in the final whorl, and interiomarginal arched aperture with umbilical flap partially covering axial depression. Molecular phylogenetic analysis, using partial small sub-unit rRNA (SSU rDNA) gene sequences shows the placement of this new species amongst other textulariids, and branches in a clade with P. pacifica and P. antarctica. Elemental characterization (SEM-EDS) of the agglutinated test wall reveals a preference for quartz mineral grains (SiO2) to construct its test. The species commonly occurs in marginal marine sediments along the west coast of India.