MA, J., TAYLOR, P.D., XIA, F., ZHAN, R. 2015. The oldest known bryozoan: Prophyllodictya (Cryptostomata) from the lower Tremadocian (Lower Ordovician) of Liujiachang, south‐western Hubei, central China. Palaeontology, 58, 5, 925-934. DOI: 10.1111/pala.12189
Junye Ma, Paul D. Taylor, Fengsheng Xia, and Renbin Zhan- Junye Ma - Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Department of Micropalaeontology Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology Nanjing China (Email: jyma@nigpas.ac.cn)
- Junye Ma - Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy (SKLPS) Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology Nanjing China
- Paul D. Taylor - Natural History Museum Department of Earth Sciences London UK (Email: p.taylor@nhm.ac.uk)
- Fengsheng Xia - Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Department of Micropalaeontology Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology Nanjing China (Email: xfs826@sohu.com)
- Renbin Zhan - Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy (SKLPS) Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology Nanjing China (Email: rbzhan@nigpas.ac.cn)
- Issue published online: 28 August 2015
- Article first published online: 01 January 1970
- Manuscript Accepted: 27 June 2015
- Manuscript Received: 24 March 2015
A new cryptostome bryozoan, Prophyllodictya simplex sp. nov., is described from the Nantzinkuan Formation (Lower Ordovician, lower Tremadoc) of Liujiachang, central China. This antedates the previously oldest known bryozoan by several million years. Colony morphology and the phylogenetic position of Prophyllodictya within Cryptostomata are explored. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that Cryptostomata (except Prophyllodictya) can be divided into two major groups, and that Prophyllodictya occupies a basal position in the cryptostome tree, which accords with its simple morphology and antiquity. A close relationship is evident between bryozoans from the South China palaeoplate and those from Baltica.
Data for this study are available in the Dryad Digital Repository http://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.j81t3 Wiley Online Library