Bryozoans of the Fenestrida order, Pennsylvanian of the Ixtaltepec Formation, Nochixtlán municipality, Oaxaca; paleoenvironmental implications

Five bryozoan forms of the order Fenestrida, found in Pennsylvanian rocks of Ixtaltepec Formation, are described: Rectifenestella sp. (Fenestellidae) and Polyporella sp., Polypora sp., Penniretepora sp. 1 and Penniretepora sp. 2 (Acanthocladiidae). The presence of these genera is coherent with paleobiogeographic affinities that have been proposed in previous studies and that have reported strong similarities between Carboniferous faunas of Santiago Ixtaltepec and contemporary faunas from the Mid-Continent region of the central eastern United States. The discovery of the taxa described herein in levels API-6 and API-7, middle-upper part of Ixtaltepec Formation, establishes for the first time their presence in the Pennsylvanian of Mexico, age previously dated by the presence of several groups of brachiopods. The morphology of the bryozoans colonies described in this study indicates a paleoenvironment of deposit of periarrecifal type, with low energy, muddy bottom, well lit, with warm and shallow waters.