Palaeoecology and palaeobiogeographic relationships of Lower Devonian bryozoans from the Guadámez and Peñón Cortado Sections of Sierra Morena (SW Spain)

Abstract

Bryozoan fauna from the Lower Devonian (Pragian – Emsian) deposits of the Ossa-Morena Zone (SW Spain) comprises twenty-eight species: one cyclostome, two cystoporates, sixteen trepostomes, five cryptostomes, and four fenestrates. Three new genera with one new species, respectively, are described: cyclostome Diploclemella serenensis n. gen. n. sp., trepostome Cordobella tenuis n. gen. n. sp., and cryptostome (rhabdomesine) Serenella dubia n. gen. n. sp. Three trepostome species are new: Leptotrypa parva n. sp., L. modesta n. sp., and Boardmanella spinigera n. sp. Ten species are described in open nomenclature. The studied bryozoan fauna shows high morphological and taxonomical diversity, comprising mostly species of moderate size. The assemblage is clearly dominated by branched ramose and encrusting growth forms. The studied bryozoan fauna shows some distinct palaeobiogeographic relations to the bryozoans from the Lower Devonian of NW Spain, Morocco, and Czech Republic.