Voloshinoides sonorensis n. sp. (Cretaceous benthic foraminifera): A potential lower Albian marker of shallow-water carbonates in northern Mexico

The benthic foraminifera Voloshinoides sonorensis n. sp. is described from the lower Albian Mural Formation of northern Sonora, Mexico. Chronostratigraphically it is intermediate between the early Aptian V. murgensis Luperto Sinni and Masse and the latest Albian/Cenomanian to Maastrichtian species described. V. sonorensis is distinguished from all other representatives of the genus above all by its thin wall and delicate, simple exoskeleton. V. sonorensis is a potential index fossil for lower Albian shallow-water carbonates in the Gulf of Mexico and adjacent regions.