Late Middle Frasnian to Early Famennian (Late Devonian) strophomenid, orthotetid, and athyridid brachiopods from southern Belgium

Abstract

Brachiopods of the orders Strophomenida, Orthotetida, and Athyridida from the late middle Frasnian–early Famennian interval (hassi to triangularis conodont zones) in the Namur-Dinant Basin (southeastern margin of Laurussia; southern Belgium) are described. Nine genera and subgenera represented by 12 species are recognized here. One new genus, Retrorstrophia, and one new species, Douvillina area, are erected. Crinisarina stainbrooki is proposed to solve the homonymy between C. reticulata (Gosselet, 1877) and Cleiothyridina reticulata Stainbrook, 1947, the type species of Crinisarina Cooper and Dutro, 1982. A lectotype is selected and illustrated for C. reticulata. A new name is also proposed for Athyris reticulata Chen and Xu, 2000, which is assigned here to Crinisarina: C. shashishanensis nom. nov. In southern Belgium, the last representatives of the families Douvillinidae and Leptostrophiidae (Strophomenida) are from the Upper rhenana Zone (late Frasnian). Athyridid brachiopods, especially the representatives of the subfamily Cleiothyridininae constituted a significant part of the early Famennian recovery faunas with spiriferids and rhynchonellids, just after the late Frasnian mass extinction.