Thalamoporella badvei, Sonar & Pawar & Wayal, 2022

Sonar, Mohan A., Pawar, Ravi V. & Wayal, Dyaneshwar V., 2022, Fossil Thalamoporellidae (Bryozoa) from Paleogene-Neogene sediments of western Kachchh, Gujarat, India, Zootaxa 5104 (2), pp. 251-274 : 256

Thalamoporella badvei n. sp.

( Fig. 5 , Table 2)

Material examined. Holotype: GIS/B 0111 ; Paratypes: GIS/B 0112–0130. Cliff section of Laiyari, Kharinadi Formation , lower Miocene (Aquitanian), 23°23’43” N, 68°46’09” E, elevation 40 m, 14 January 2011, DST project, New Delhi .

Etymology. The species is named after the late Dr. R. M. Badve, in acknowledgement of his contribution to palaeontology.

Diagnosis. Colony encrusting. Autozooids mostly elongate-rectangular, arranged in quincunx, each bordered by raised, thick autozooidal boundaries. Orifice almost pyriform shaped. Adoral tubercles wanting. Opesiules subtriangular, equal in size. Cryptocyst smooth, minutely perforated. Avicularia small, triangular, placed proximal to the autozooid with distally directed acute rostrum.

Description. Colony encrusting, unilaminar, arranged in longitudinally series of alternating rows. Autozooids long, with equal, parallel walls, surrounded by distinct, thick, raised autozooidal boundaries, fused with those of adjacent autozooids ( Fig. 5A ). Some autozooids exhibit anomalous growth ( Fig. 5B ). Orifices generally subpyriform and longer than wide, with raised margin, the distal border more arcuate and the proximal border slightly concave. Adoral areas narrow, without tubercles. Two equal subtriangular opesiules adjacent to lateral walls of autozooids away from the proximal lip of the orifice. Cryptocyst an extensive shelf, shallow, smooth, with minute perforation. Avicularia rare, small, triangular, distal to an autozooid at bifurcation of rows; rostrum acute with blunt tip, directed distally ( Fig. 5C ). Ovicells not observed.

Remarks. Thalamoporella voigti Guha & Gopikrishna, 2004 superficially resembles the present species in the shape of its avicularia. However, T. voigti has raised prominent adoral tubercles, more-vasiform autozooids bordered by very thick, raised finely beaded autozooidal boundaries and a coarsely perforated cryptocyst. Thalamoporella spinosa Soule, Soule & Chaney, 1999 shows some resemblance in the shape of orifices and thick autozooidal borders but differs from the present species in having large adoral tubercles, unequal opesiules, short autozooids and avicularia that differ in position, shape and size.

Figures

FIGURE 5. Thalamoporella badvei n. sp. (Holotype GIS/B 0111). A. General view of colony showing autozooids. B. Detail of an anomalous or damaged zooid. C. Enlargement of autozooids, orifices and an avicularium. Scale bars: A, 500 µm; B, 100 µm; C, 200 µm.