Rodinopora gen. nov. and the Taxonomy of Fungiform Cyclostome Bryozoans

Abstract

A new cyclostome bryozoan, Rodinopora magnifica gen. et sp. nov., is described from the Sea of Okhotsk. It is compared with other genera of fossil and living bryozoans also having stalked, mushroom-shaped or fungiform colonies. This growth-form is notable in being far commoner in cyclostomes than in any other orders of bryozoans. All existing fungiform cyclostome genera are reviewed and briefly redescribed. Seventeen genera are provisionally recognized. These are distributed among 10 nominal families as currently understood. Fungiform growth represents a strategy for elevating the feeding zooids above the surface of the substratum, potentially as a means of preventing overgrowth or of accessing regions of higher current flow in the boundary layer for feeding.