Fistulipora, M'Coy, 1849

Ernst, Andrej, Senowbari-Daryan, Baba & Hamedani, Ali, 2006, Middle Permian Bryozoa from the Lakaftari area, northeast of Esfahan (central Iran), Geodiversitas 28 (4), pp. 543-590 : 548-549

Fistulipora sp. ( Fig. 2C, J, L ; Table 3)

MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Three thin sections of a single colony 4-16.

OCCURRENCE. — Lakaftari: central Iran, Jamal Formation, Middle Permian.

DESCRIPTION

Encrusting colonies, 1.20-1.76 mm thick. Secondary overgrowths common. Encrusting layers 0.75- 0.90 mm thick. Autozooecia bud from substrate at low angles. Autozooecial apertures rounded, having well developed, horseshoe-shaped lunaria, spaced 3.5-4.0 in 2 mm. Autozooecial apertures commonly 0.38-0.49 mm in diameter; few apertures extremely larger than others, having diameters of 0.52-0.58 mm. Autozooecial diaphragms rare to absent, complete, thin, deflected orally.Vesicles polygonal in tangential section, arranged in 1-2 rows between autozooecia, usually having slightly concave roofs at the base and more flat roofs near the colony surface, spaced 14-17 per 1 mm of the colony thickness. Distinct maculae not observed, small spaces, consisting of vesicular skeleton between apertures occurring.

COMPARISON

The present specimen is similar to Fistulipora zhejiangensis Lu, 1986 (upper part of the Lower Permian [Tongling, Maokou Formation, Hunan, western Zhejiang, China]), especially in the characteristic occurrence of larger and smaller apertures. The latter species has smaller autozooecial apertures and thicker colonies, as well as abundant diaphragms. Fistulipora vacuolata Crockford, 1944 from the Lower Permian of Western Australia (upper part of Noonkanbah Series; Late Artinskian to Lower Kungurian) is also similar to the described material, differing in having thicker colonies (4 vs. 1.20-1.76 mm in present material), as well as abundant diaphragms.

Figures

FIG. 2. — A, B, D, E, G, Fistulipora monticulosa Nikiforova, 1933; A, 5, cylindrical colony; B, 5-9-3, tangential section; D, 5-11-1, thin section through cylindrical colony; E, 5-9-3, longitudinal section of encrusting colony;G, 5-11-1, tangential section;C, J, L, Fistulipora sp.; C, 4-16-5, longitudinal section of encrusting colony; J, 4-16-3, tangential section; L, 4-16-3, tangential section; F, H, K, M, Fistulipora timorensis Bassler, 1929; F, 10-2-2, longitudinal section; H, K, 25-10-3, tangential section; M, 7-3-2, deep tangential section of macula center; I, N, Fistuliporidae indet. (?Eridopora); I, 4-8-11, longitudinal section; N, 19-4-2, tangential section. Scale bars: A, 10 mm; B, E, 1 mm; C, G-I, K-N, 0.5 mm; D, 3 mm; F, 0.05 mm; J, 0.2 mm.