Morphology and palaeobiogeography of Retelepralia, a distinctive cheilostome bryozoan new to the fossil record

摘要

A new species of ascophoran cheilostome bryozoan, Retelepralia macmonagleae sp. nov., is described from Malaysian Borneo (Sabah). Dated as Late Oligocene, it is the oldest known and the first recognized fossil species of Retelepralia. A second fossil species of this genus, originally described as Hippodiplosia voigti DAVID, MONGEREAU & POUYET, 1972, occurs in the Miocene of France and Morocco. Synonymy of H. voigti with the Recent type species of Retelepralia, Lepralia mosaica KIRKPATRICK, 1888, is tentatively proposed. Included in the Cheiloporinidae, Retelepralia is characterized by a lepralioid frontal shield with a distinctive median gymnocystal strip. The presence of two hypostegal coelomic compartments in living zooids is inferred, and the palaeobiogeography of Retelepralia is discussed.