Early Ordovician organophosphatic brachiopods with Baltoscandian affinities from the Alay Range, southern Kyrgyzstan

Organophosphatic-shelled brachiopods (Subphylum Linguliformea, Class Lingul ata) of early Ordovician (Arenig) age are described for the first time from carbonate olistoliths within the Silurian Pulgon Formation of the Kichik A lay Range, southern Kyrgyzstan. The assemblages include Paterula? naukatens is sp. nov., Rowellella sp., Orbithele ceratopygarum (Brogger), Acrotreta k orynevskii Holmer & Popov, Ombergia mirabilis gen. et sp. nov., Eoconulus c f. primus Popov & Holmer, and Palaeoglossa? aff. razumovskii (Lermontova). The Kyrgyzstanian faunas appear to correlate mainly with assemblages from t he upper Hunnebergian or lower Billingenian regional stages of Baltoscandia . Taxa in common with those from the early Arenig of Baltoscandia and the S outh Urals include O. ceratopygarum and A. korynevskii. Ombergia mirabilis is known otherwise only from coeval strata in. Baltoscandia. It is probable that the Kyrgyzstanian olistoliths originated from early Ordovician intra- oceanic volcanic island area in the proximity of Gondwana, and the microbra chiopod faunas around these islands may have given rise to the more widespr ead and richer faunas that spread across Baltica during the rest of the Ord ovician, as the island complexes drifted towards Baltica.