Thalamoporella sp.

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 : 269

Thalamoporella sp.

( Fig. 16 , Table 13 )

Material examined. GIS/B 0362. Yellowish siltstone of Waghot cliff section and claystone of Kankawati River south of Vinjhan village , Chhasra Formation , lower Miocene (Burdigalian), 23°03’10’’ N, 69°00’23’’ E, elevation 25 m, 15 January 2011, DST project, New Delhi .

Description. Colony erect, bilaminar. Autozooids rectangular, arranged in alternating longitudinal series, each separated by thick, raised, smooth autozooidal borders ( Fig. 16A ). Orifice subcircular, the arcuate distal border slightly raised, the concave proximal margin not pronounced. Adoral areas narrow, without tubercles. Two large, subrounded, unequal opesiules placed near lateral walls, deeply sunken. Cryptocyst shallow, granular, slightly sloping into opesiular region ( Fig. 16B ). Some zooids show anomalous growth; they may represent unusually large vicarious; if so, they lack differentiation into rostral and opesial parts, the lumen is huge, and there are no pivots. Ovicells not observed.

Remarks. Only a single fragment was found. More and better-preserved material is required to provide a more thorough description. Therefore, the species is left in open nomenclature.

Figures

FIGURE 16. Thalamoporella sp. (GIS/B 0362). A. General view of colony showing rectangular autozooids, orifices. B. Close up of autozooids, cryptocysts, orifices and large unequal opesiules. Scale bars: A, 200 µm; B, 100 µm.