Loftusia persica: an Eocene Lazarus occurrence?

A specimen of Loftusia persica Brady is described that contains as a part of its inner test a specimen of Turborotalia pomeroli (Toumarkine and Both), which is a very distinctive Middle to Late Eocene planktonic foraminifera. Although originally described as a "Tertiary" form, more recently Loftusia persica has been considered to be restricted to the Maastrichtian. A number of scenarios that could have led to the inclusion of an Eocene planktonic foraminifera deep within the test of a specimen of Loftusia are discussed, and it is concluded that the most probable interpretation is that Loftusia persica reappeared as a "Lazarus" species in the Eocene having survived the Cretaceous-Paleocene mass extinction, but was eventually driven to extinction by the orogeny that led to the formation of the Zagros Mountains.