中国科学院南京地质古生物研究所机构知识库

After the Late Ordovician mass extinction, brachiopods recovered and re-radiated during the Aeronian age of the early Silurian. However, a drastic turnover of Ordovician-type to Silurian-type faunas took place. In South China, Aeronian brachiopod faunas are rarely reported and typically of low diversity. Here, we describe an endemic brachiopod faunule from the middle Xiangshuyuan Formation (middle Aeronian) of Yinjiang in northern Guizhou Province, South China. The fossils include five endemic species assigned to five genera. With the exception of Zygospiraella, at least three of these genera are also endemic. The diagnoses of Qianomena and Sinokulumbella are revised based on new specimens. The palaeobiogeographical and palaeoecological implications of the faunule are discussed and interpreted as products of climatic warming and increased habitat heterogeneity during the Aeronian.