Upper Ordovician (Sandbian) bryozoan fauna from Argentine Precordillera

Abstract

A stenolaemate bryozoan fauna containing 20 species belonging to 18 genera is described from the Las Plantas and Las Aguaditas formations (Upper Ordovician, Sandbian) in San Juan Province, Precordillera of Western Argentina. One genus with one species is new:Argentinodictya lenticulatan. gen. n. sp. (Cryptostomata, Ptilodictyina). Four species are new: one trepostomeParvohallopora parvulan. sp., two cryptostomesTrigonodictya parvulan. sp. andPtilodictya intermedian. sp., and phyloporinineChasmatopora rossaen. sp. The bryozoan assemblage of the Las Plantas Formation is more diverse than that of the Las Aguaditas Formation. Fourteen species are restricted to the Las Plantas Formation, five species occur in both formations, and one species is restricted to the Las Aguaditas Formation. Erect growth forms are dominant in the studied fauna. The majority of bryozoan taxa display palaeobiogeographic relations to Sandbian–Katian deposits of North America, with two species also known from the Katian of Europe.