©Geol. Bundesanstalt, Wien; download unter www.geologie.ac.at 5 JB. Geol. B. A. Sonderband 12 S 5—99 Wien, Juli 1966 Lower Carboniferous and Upper Permian Brachiopods from Nepal By J. B. WATEEHOTTSE*) With 16 plates Contents Page Abstract 5 Zusammenfassung 6 Introduction 7 Scope of present work 8 Acknowledgements 8 Permian Brachiopod Descriptions 8 Carboniferous Brachiopod Descriptions 66 Correlation of the faunas 81 Permian 81 Carboniferous 86 References 88 Plates Index 97 Abstract Twenty Permian and eight Carboniferous brachiopod species are described from the Upper Paleozoic beds of Nepal. Permian species are known from eleven fossil localities, and compare closely with Upper Permian Himalayan faunas from the Productus Shales, Chiticun 1, Kuling Shale, and Zewan beds of Kashmir, as well as the Upper Productus Limestone of the Salt *) New Zealand Geological Survey, Lower Hutt, New Zealand. ©Geol. Bundesanstalt, Wien; download unter www.geologie.ac.at 6 Range. The faunas are correlative with the Upper Permian Cyclolobus zone, generally presumed to come at the top of the Paleozoic succession, although possibly not as young as some Permian faunas of Japan and New Zealand. Two new genera are proposed, Multispinula with type species Strophalosia maxwelli WATBBHOUSB (1964 c), considered to include many species previously referred to Strophalosia, and Fusispirifer, with type species Spirifer nitiensis DIENER (1897 b). Newly named species are Ortho- tetes bisulcata, Anidanthus fusiformis, Costiferina alata, and Fusispirifer plicatus, and various other Upper Permian species are revised from exa­ mination of type material from the Salt Range and Himalaya, notably species of 'Strophalosia', Neospirifer moosakhailensis, N. ravana, Spiriferella rajah and S. tibetana. Lectotypes are designated for Strophalosia indica WAAGEN, S. lamellosa linearis REED, S. tenuispina WAAGEN, S. nodosa WAAGEN, Productus opuntia WAAGEN, Ruthenia purdoni castrensis REED, Productus indicus WAAGEN, Productus lineatus WAAGEN, Spirifer moosak­ hailensis DAVIDSON, S. ravana DIENER, S. nitiensis DIENER, S. byroensis GLATJERT, S. tibetanus DIENER, and Athyris subexpansa WAAGEN, these being species of particular relevance to the present study. Carboniferous brachiopods are known from three localities, and compare with species from the Syringothyris Limestone of Kashmir and Lipak beds of Kanaur and Spiti. They are probably Tournaisian. Newly named species and subspecies are Linoproductus pollex, Fusella mucronata, and Syringothyris curzoni glaber. Zusammenfassung Es werden zwanzig permische und acht karbone Brachiopodenarten aus dem Jungpaläozoikum der Tibet Zone von West Nepal beschrieben. Das Fossilmaterial wurde von Dr. G. FUCHS im Zuge der geologischen Aufnahme des unter dem Namen Dolpo bekannten Gebietes und im Dhaula Himal aufgesammelt. Diese Untersuchungen wurden im Rahmen der von der österreichischen Himalaya-Gesellschaft durchgeführten „österreichi­ schen Dhaula-Himal-Expedition 1963" vorgenommen. Ein vorläufiger Bericht (G. FUCHS 1964) gibt einen Überblick über den geologischen Auf­ bau des Gebietes, 1967 soll eine ausführliche Darstellung der Geologie dieses Raumes erscheinen. Von elf Fossilpunkten sind permische Arten bekannt. Sie stehen anderen oberpermischen Faunen des Himalaya, wie denen aus den Productus Schiefern, von Chiticun 1, den Kuling Schiefern und den Zewan Schichten Kashmirs sowie aus dem Oberen Productus Kalk und der Salt Range sehr nahe. Die Faunen entsprechen der Cyclo­ lobus Zone des Ober Perm, die allgemein als das jüngste Schichtglied der paläozoischen Abfolge betrachtet wird, obwohl möglicherweise gewisse permische Faunen Japans und Neuseelands noch jünger sind. Zwei neue Gattungen werden vorgeschlagen, Multispinula mit Strophalosia maxwelli WATERHOUSE (1964 c) als Typusart, sie enthält anscheinend viele Arten, die- bisher zu Strophalosia gezählt wurden, und Fusispirifer mit Spirifer nitiensis DIENER (1897 b) als Typusspezies. Neue Arten sind Orthotetes bisulcata, Anidanthus fusiformis, Costiferina alata und Fusispirifer plicatus. ©Geol. Bundesanstalt, Wien; download unter www.geologie.ac.at 7 Verschiedene andere oberpermische Arten wurden bei der Durchsicht des aus der Salt Range und dem Himalaya stammenden Typusmaterials revidiert, nämlich „Strophalosia", Neospirifer moosakhailensis, N. ravana, Spiriferella rajah und 8. tibetana. Lectotypen werden angegeben für Strophalosia indica WAAGEN, 8. lamellosa linearis REED, S. tenuispina WAAGEN, S. nodosa WAAGEN, Productus opuntia WAAGEN, Ruthenia purdoni castrensis REED, Productus indicus WAAGEN, Productus lineatus WAAGEN, Spirifer moosakhailensis DAVIDSON, S. ravana DIENER, S. nitiensis DIENER, S. byroensis GLAUBERT, 8, tibetanus DIENER und Athyris subexpansa WAAGEN, welche Arten für die vorliegende Arbeit von besonderer Bedeutung sind. Karbone Brachiopoden sind von drei Fossilpunkten bekannt, sie sind mit Arten aus dem Syringothyris Kalk von Kashmir und den Lipak Schichten von Kanaur und Spiti zu vergleichen. Ihr Alter ist wahrscheinlich Tournais. Neu bekannte Spezies und Subspezies sind Linoproductus pollex, Fusella mucronata und Syringothyris curzoni glaber. Introduction The brachiopods described in this report were collected from the Dolpo District of West Nepal by Dr. Gerhard R. FUCHS in 1963 *) (FUCHS, 1964). As shown in the list of localities (Table 3), three collections are of Carboni­ ferous species, preserved as rather small and broken specimens in calcareous mudstone. The material responds very well to leaching in hydrochloric acid, although some specimens proved to be filled internally with calcite. On the whole they indicate a Lower Carboniferous age, perhaps a little older than the correlation high in the Lower Carboniferous suggested on the basis of the corals after a preliminary examination by FLÜGEL (1964). The remainder of the brachiopods are Upper Permian, in conformity with the corals examined by FLÜGEL. AS outlined in FUCHS (1964) and Table 3, they come from a variety of lithologies, ranging from quartzose sandstone at the base of the Permian above the Lower Carboniferous, through non-calcareous to highly calcareous mudstones and coarse-grained limestones at the top of the succession, immediately below the Triassic. None of the faunas are particularly rich in terms of species, but individuals of some Productoid and Spiriferoid species are unusually large. Like other material collected from the Himalaya, most specimens are preserved as natural or partially leached moulds which show internal and external detail well, in contrast to the richer faunas of the Salt Range of West Pakistan, and also from Chiticun 1, in which the specimens are preserved chiefly as shells with fine surface detail often lost, and internal detail hidden. Only some of Nepal material has the shell intact. The detail thus preserved enables an enlarged understanding of several important species. A warning must however be sounded on one aspect of the preservation of the Nepal material. Most specimens are moderately to considerably distorted, as well as broken, and for this reason, the variation in dimensions given for the specimens should be treated with caution. *) G. FTJCHS was a member of the Dhaula-Himal-Expedition 1963 which was organized by the -Österreichische Himalaya-Gesellschaft. ©Geol. Bundesanstalt, Wien; download unter www.geologie.ac.at 8 Scope of the present work Before being presented with the task of describing the Nepal material I spent four weeks at the Geological Survey of India, Calcutta, examining type Permian and Carboniferous specimens from the Salt Range, Himalayas, Yunnan and Chitral. Valuable information on many of the types to which the Nepal species are referred was gained in this way, and is incorporated in the present work, together with observations on types of related forms, particularly from Madagascar and Indonesia. First hand examination of the Salt Range types in particular proves to be indispensable as some of the figures in the major works by WAAGEN and REED are highly misleading. The reader should be warned that examination at Calcutta had to be very rapid, and that only the types were seen, rather than fully representative collections, which give unduly restricted concepts of the species involved. Unfortunately the Nepal material was not to hand while I was working at Calcutta, but I have been able to compare the Nepal material with speci­ mens collected from various parts of Kashmir by Dr. FUCHS, and from the Salt Range collected by myself. Acknowledgements I am particularly grateful to Dr. G. FTJCHS for kindly giving me the oppor­ tunity of describing the Upper Palaeozoic brachiopods from Nepal, and to Dr. R. W. WILLETT and C. A. FLEMING, Director and Chief Palaeontologist of the New Zealand Geological Survey, for granting permission to conduct the study. Acknowledgements are due to the Chief Palaeontologist, Mr. M. V. A. SASTBY and Palaeontologist Mr. S. C. SHAH, Geological Survey of India, for their help in enabling me to examine the various Upper Paleozoic brachiopod types at Calcutta, and to Mr. FATMI, Pakistan Geological Survey, for guiding me through sections of the Salt Range. Prof. L. P. G. KONING, Geologisch Institut, Universität of Amsterdam; Dr. J. H. UBAGHS, Mineralogisch geologisch Museum, Technische Hogeschool, Delft; Prof. G. H. R. von KOENIGSWALD, Mineralogisch-Geologisch Instituut, Rijks Universitet, Utrecht, and Dr. H. K. EBBEN, Geologisch-Paläontologisches Institut und Museum, Rhein Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität, Bonn, kindly assisted