DEVONIAN BRACHIOPODS FROM NORTHERN CHILE

Fossiliferous marine Devonian has been known in Chile for less than a decade. The initial discovery from south of the Salar de Atacama regio n, in the Sierra de Almeida, northern Chile is described together with its brachiopods. The brachiopods indicate an age span of Emsian-Eifel ian or Givetian, shallow-water conditions in the Benthic Assemblage 2 range, and a biogeographic boundary region between the cool climate Ma lvinokaffric Realm and warmer region extra-Malvinokaffric Realms, incl uding the Eastern Americas Realm and the Rhenish-Bohemian Region of th e Old World Realm. The recent discovery of a Malvinokaffric Realm tril obite far to the south in Chile, at Buill in the Andes of Chiloe, serv es to underline our very preliminary knowledge of the Chilean Devonian , whereas the alleged Devonian brachiopods from the Chonos Archipelago far to the south are probably bivalves of uncertain age.