Tectulipora tuberculata, Ernst & Fernández & Fernández-Martínez & Vera, 2012

Ernst, Andrej, Fernández, Luis Pedro, Fernández-Martínez, Esperanza & Vera, Carmen, 2012, Description of a bryozoan fauna from mud mounds of the Lebanza Formation (Lower Devonian) in the Arauz area (Pisuerga-Carrión Province, Cantabrian Zone, NW Spain), Geodiversitas 34 (4), pp. 693-738 : 726

Tectulipora tuberculata n. sp. ( Figs 19G, H ; 20 A-H; Appendix)

ETYMOLOGY. — The species name refers to the presence of abundant large nodes, present both on the branches and superstructure.

HOLOTYPE. — SMF 21.361 .

PARATYPES. — SMF 21.362- SMF 21.380.

TYPE LOCALITY. — Arauz Sur (Arroyo section), Province of Palencia, NW-Spain (Cantabrian Mountains).

TYPE HORIZON. — Lebanza Formation, Lower Devonian (Pragian).

DIAGNOSIS. — Reticulate colonies, conical, frontal surface exterior; autozooecia arranged in two weakly alternating rows on branches, 4-7 spaced per length of a fenestrule; autozooecial chambers rectangular in mid tangential section, short and relatively high, with moderately short vestibules; axial wall straight; hemisepta absent; terminal diaphragms planar; fenestrules oval to rectangular; superstructure produced by straight high club-shaped median keel, corresponding with underlying branches, outer lamellar skeleton well developed, traversed by small microstyles; large, irregularly sized nodes on reverse colony surface and on the protective superstructure; heterozooecia not observed.

DESCRIPTION

Reticulate colonies, conical, frontal surface exterior. Branches intermediate in width, straight, intermediately spaced, dichotomously divided, joined by straight wide dissepiments. Autozooecia arranged in two weakly alternating rows on branches, having circular apertures with low peristomes, 4-7 spaced per length of a fenestrule. Fenestrules oval to rectangular, varying in size. Straight high clubshaped median keel on obverse side of branches, composed of core of granular skeleton and sheath of laminar skeleton; superstructure corresponding with underlying branches, consisting of laterally expanded laths borne on continuous skeletal sheets from branches and dissepiments.

Internal granular skeleton continuous with obverse keel, nodes, peristome and across dissepiments, 0.015 -0.055 mm thick on the branch reverse wall. Outer lamellar skeleton well developed, 0.055 - 0.170 mm thick on the branch reverse wall, traversed by small microstyles. Reverse colony surface containing large, irregularly sized nodes, 0.03- 0.09 mm in diameter. Similar nodes occurring on the protective superstructure, 0.03-0.05 mm in diameter. Heterozooecia not observed.

Interior description

Autozooecial chambers rectangular in mid tangential section, short and relatively high, with moderately short vestibules. Axial wall between autozooecial rows straight in tangential sections, continuing unbroken in superstructure. Hemisepta absent. Terminal diaphragms planar.

COMPARISON

Tectulipora tuberculata n.sp. is similar to T. pannosa (Počta, 1894) from the Lower Devonian (Pragian) of Czech Republic and to T. conjunctiva (Hall, 1881) from the Lower Devonian of Canada in general morphology and dimensions of the meshwork, but differs from them in having large nodes on the reverse colony surface. Unitrypa tuberculata n.sp. is also similar to Isotrypa (Tectulipora) sibirica Krasnopeeva subsp. communis Waschurova, 1964 ( Waschurova 1964: 100, pl. 21, fig. 3) in general morphology and in the presence of nodes on the reverse colony surface and on the superstructure. However, the latter species has narrower branches (branch width 0.31 vs 0.28-0.49 mm in present material), and smaller fenestrules (fenestrule width 0.23 vs 0.20-0.42 mm and fenestrule length 0.31- 0.54 vs 0.69-1.05 mm in present material).

Figures

FIG.19.— A-F, Hemitrypa lasutkiniae Waschurova,1964;A, B, oblique tangential section showing protecting superstructure and nodes on the reverse surface,SMF 21.355;C,D, tangential section showing autozooecial chambers,SMF 21.358;E, tangential section of reverse side showing nodes, SMF 21.357; F, openings in superstructure, tangential section, SMF 21.358; G, H, Tectulipora tuberculata n. sp., branch transverse section showing branches and superstructure, paratype SMF 21.380. Scale bars: A, C, H, 1 mm; B, G, 0.5 mm; D-F, 0.2 mm.

FIG. 20. — Tectulipora tuberculata n. sp:A-B, tangential section showing superstructure,holotype SMF 21.361;C, mid tangential section showing autozooecial chambers,apertures and wide keels, SMF 21.378;D, tangential section showing autozooecial apertures,holotype SMF 21.361; E, tangential section of reverse surface showing microacanthostyles and nodes, paratype SMF 21.377; F, tangential section of obverse surface showing granulated skeleton of axial wall, paratype SMF 21.371; G, longitudinal section, paratype SMF 21.362; H,transverse section of conical colony at its base,paratype SMF 21.369.Scale bars:A,B,G,H,1 mm;C,0.5 mm;D,0.2 mm;E,F,0.1 mm.