Fenestrata

For other uses, see Fenestrata (disambiguation).

Fenestrata is an extinct order of bryozoan, dating from the Upper Arenig.^[1] Most fenestrate bryozoans formed net-like colonies, often in funnel- or fan-shaped forms, with a single layer of zooids facing one direction.^[2] The colony shape served as a filter-feeding apparatus that water currents flowed through, with autozooecial apertures only on the side of the colony facing into the current.^[3] This colony structure was vulnerable to predators, so some fenestrate bryozoans produced skeletal superstructures, likely to strengthen or protect the colony, and others had protective spines surrounding their autozooecial apertures.

Fenestrata Temporal range: Ordovician–Permian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Bryozoa
Class:	Stenolaemata
Order:	†Fenestrata

Some sources consider Fenestrata to be a synonym of Fenestrida,^[4] while others treat them as separate orders.^[5]

References

1. Taylor, P. D. & Curry, G. B. (1985). "The earliest known fenestrate bryozoan, with a short review of Lower Ordovician Bryozoa" (PDF). Palaeontology. 28 (1): 147–158.
2. Ernst, Andrej (2020). "2- Fossil record and evolution of Bryozoa". Phylum Bryozoa. p. 23.
3. Ernst, Andrej (2012). "Diversity dynamics and evolutionary patterns of Devonian Bryozoa". Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments. 93.
4. Fenestrida † . Retrieved through: Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera on 2022-03-20.
5. "Class Stenolaemata Borg 1926 (bryozoan)". Paleobiology Database. Retrieved 2022-03-20.