Late Ordovician linguliformean microbrachiopods from north-central Kazakhstan

A Late Ordovician (late Caradoc) linguliformean microbrachiopod assemblage from north-central Kazakhstan contains 12 taxa of acrotretides, lingulides and paterinides including two new genera: Atansoria (type species Atansoria concava sp. nov.) and Naimania (type species Isedonia procera Popov, 1980) plus the new species Conotreta? chernovi. It also provides a first record of the presence of Dictyonites, Foveola, Acrotreta and Ephippelasma in the Caradoc, and Acrotretella is reported for the first time outside Baltoscandia in the Ordovician. The assemblage retains some distinctive characters of microbrachiopod faunas known from the late Arenig and Llanvirn of central Kazakhstanian terranes, and is clearly distinct from the Llandeilo and early Ashgill assemblages of the Chingiz-Tarbagatay terrane (east Kazakhstan). The latter demonstrate more similarity to the Baltoscandian faunas.