Bryozoan fauna from the Koněprusy Limestone (Pragian, Lower Devonian) of Zlatý Kůň near Koněprusy (Czech Republic)

Abstract

This paper presents an overview of the bryozoan fauna from the upper Koněprusy Limestone (kindlei Conodont Zone, middle Pragian, Lower Devonian) exposed in two quarries at Zlatý Kuň near Koněprusy in Central Bohemia, and discusses its paleoecology and paleobiogeography. The studied fauna is dominated by encrusting fistuliporine and trepostome bryozoans (eight species), accompanied mainly by reticulate fenestrates (four species), branching ramose trepostomes and cryptostomes (three species), and one massive trepostome species. The richest bryozoan association comes from reef core/margin facies (13 species), followed by crinoid-bryozoan facies of the ramp (eight species). The reef-terrace facies and the crinoid-bryozoan-algal facies contain three and two species respectively. Seven species are described taxonomically, three fistuliporines and four trepostomes. The following taxa are new: Koneprusiella armata n. gen. n. sp., Fistulipora rarivesiculata n. sp., Fistulipora hladili n. sp. and Leptotrypa varia n. sp. Paleobiogeographic patterns of the bryozoan fauna from the Koněprusy Limestone are similar to those of stromatoporoids, comprising widely distributed genera but mainly endemic species. This supports a relative geographic isolation of the Koněprusy reef. The bryozoan fauna from the Koněprusy Limestone shows paleogeographic affinities with that from the Lower Devonian (Pragian) of Morocco and the Middle Devonian of Michigan (USA).