Bryozoans from the Parana formation (Miocene), in Entre Rios Province, Argentina

Six species of bryozoans from the Parana Formation are described herein. They were collected from the locality of Punta Gorda, close to the city of Diamante, in Entre Rios province, Argentina. The specimens were found encrusting oyster shells in a bioclastic grainstone, representing a parautochtonous occurrence. The material described was referred to the following taxa: Acanthodesia cf. sulcata Canu (Membraniporidae), Microporella sp. (Microporellidae), Schizoporella sp. (Schizoporellidae), Schizoporellidae indet. and Schizosmittina sp. (Bitectiporidae), of the order Cheilostomata, and Tubulipora sp. (Tubuliporidae) of the order Cyclostomata. Of these, only the species included in Acanthodesia (but as Membranipora) had been previously described from the Parana Formation. Therefore, the list of known bryozoan genera from this unit is enlarged from one to six. The genus Schizosmittina, previously known only from the Miocene of France and the Miocene to Holocene of Australasia, is recorded for the first time in South America.