Late Devonian (Frasnian) brachiopods from the Wadleigh Limestone, Southeastern Alaska

Abstract

A brachiopod fauna from the upper part of the Wadleigh Limestone, Alexander terrane, southeastern Alaska, is of late Frasnian age and includes the new taxa Gypidula cornuta alaskensis n. subsp., Gypidula upatensis n. sp., Gypidula perryi n. sp., Gypiduloides craigensis n. gen. and sp., Parapugnax schmidti n. sp., Westbroekina chaconenesis n. gen. and sp., Emanuella altus n. sp., Emanuella neumani n. sp., Adolfispirifer sanjuanensis n. sp., Theodossia albertoensis n. sp., Cyrtospirifer paridaensis n. sp., and Tenticospirifer wadleighensis n. sp. A few other taxa are cosmopolitan or conspecific with species known from elsewhere in western North America. The fauna overall may have North American affinities but includes an unusual number of previously undescribed forms. This lends support to the view, based on the affinities of Frasnian conodonts from this same locality (Savage, 1992) and Famennian brachiopods described from nearby (Savage et al., 1978), that these Alexander terrane faunas were not in general communication with Late Devonian North American cratonic faunas to the east.