A new species of the problematic organism Webbyites from the Early Ordovician Fezouata Biota of Morocco

oleh: Lucy A. Muir, Juan Carlos Gutiérrez-Marco

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: Estonian Academy Publishers 2023-06-01

Deskripsi

The problematic colonial organism Webbyites has previously been considered to be a hydroid (phylum Cnidaria). In this paper, we describe a new species, Webbyites felix sp. nov., from the Early Ordovician Fezouata Konservat-Lagerstätte of Morocco. One specimen preserves some soft-tissue zooid remains. The presence of a stolon system in the new species and the type species indicates that Webbyites is a benthic graptolite. Webbyites lacks bithecae; thus, it is not a dendroid graptolite.