The status of Protoretepora de Koninck, 1878 (Fenestrata: Bryozoa), and description of P. crockfordae sp. nov. and P. wassi sp. nov. from the Permian of Australia

Abstract

Wyse Jackson, P.N., Reid, C.M & McKinney, F.K., iFirst article. 2011. The status of Protoretepora de Koninck, 1878 (Fenestrata: Bryozoa), and description of P. crockfordae sp. nov. and P. wassi sp. nov. from the Permian of Australia. Alcheringa, 1–14. ISSN 0311-5518.

The bryozoan genus Protoretepora de Koninck, 1878 is based on the species Fenestella ampla from Australia described by Lonsdale in Darwin (1844) and in de Strzelecki (1845). However, the original descriptions and illustrations clearly depict a mixture of fenestrate species. This led to the subsequent assignment by various authors of a range of taxa to Protoretepora from Permian successions at several localities. The name Protoretepora ampla has been applied to several species, not necessarily in Protoretepora. Fenestella ampla Lonsdale in Darwin, 1844, the type species of Protoretepora, was originally described from material collected by Darwin, and a year later was further described from collections made by de Strzelecki. Some of de Strzelecki's illustrations clearly show colonies as having coalescing branches bearing autozooecia with no dissepiments, and it was on the basis of this material collected by de Strzelecki that de Koninck erected the genus Protoretepora. Examination of de Strzelecki's material from the Permian of Tasmania has allowed restriction of Protoretepora to the taxa with these coalescing branches that lack dissepiments; those with dissepiments described by Lonsdale in Darwin (1844) have been placed in Parapolypora Morozova & Lisitsyn, 1996. The status of Protoretepora is clarified and two new species are described from the Permian of Australia: P. crockfordae and P. wassi.

Key words:

• Bryozoa
• Protoretepora
• Fenestrata
• systematics
• Permian
• Australia

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Paul Taylor and Jill Darrell (Natural History Museum, London) and John Laurie (Geoscience Australia, Canberra) for facilitating the loan of specimens under their care for our study. Jeremy Smith and Andrew Polaszek (International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature, London) kindly clarified several of our questions concerning matters of nomenclature.