| Summary: | Various methods of multivariate statistical analysis applied to collections of the ammonite Knemiceras from the Albian of Lebanon and Iran support the validity of three species of the genus, recognized on traditional descriptive grounds: K. persicum COLLIGNON, 1983, K. syriacum (VON BUCH 1848a) and K. dubertreti BASSE, 1940. The status of a fourth taxon, erected as Knemiceras compressum HYATT, 1903, could not be confirmed owing to the lack of sufficient material for quantitative analysis. An eigenshape analysis of suture-lines for all taxa discloses little differentiation in the conformation of the suture lines. This result could possibly be of functional significance with respect to the relationship between sutural complexity and shell-shape. © E. Schweizerbart'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung 2009.
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