DOI: 10.5061/dryad.31zcrjdh2
title: Late Ordovician brachiopods from east-central Alaska, northwestern margin of Laurentia

description: A Late Ordovician brachiopod fauna from the Black River quadrangle (D-1
 1:63,360 scale) of east-central Alaska comprises taxa typical of the Late
 Ordovician brachiopod fauna in the pericratonic epeiric seas of Laurentia,
 including Hesperorthis pyramidalis, Plaesiomys occidentalis, Eoplectodonta
 sp., Holtehdalina sp., Leptaena sp., Brevilamnulella minuta n. sp.,
 Tcherskidium tenuicostatum n. sp., Rhynchotrema iowense, and Whitfieldella
 sp. The presence of Plaesiomys occidentalis and Tcherskidium tenuicostata
 n. sp. indicates a latest Katian age by correlation with similar species
 in the Mackenzie Mountains, southern Manitoba, Anticosti Island, the
 American mid-continent, Kolyma, and Siberia. Cluster analysis based on 20
 well-studied late Katian brachiopod faunas from various regions within
 Laurentia and elsewhere in other tectonic plates suggests that the small
 brachiopod faunule from Alaska has the strongest paleobiogeographic
 affinity with Laurentia, confirming that the Black River quadrangle of
 Alaska was part of Laurentia during the Late Ordovician.
description: Cluster analysis of late Katian (Richmondian) brachiopod faunas
 from Laurentia and other tectonic plates (Fig. 2 of the main paper) is
 based on following sources (Table S1). <b>Anticosti
 Island</b>, Quebec, Vaureal Formation (Dewing, 2000, Jin and Zhan,
 2008). Cincinnati Arch, Richmondian strata of Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana border
 region (Davis, 1985). <b>East-central Alaska</b> (this study).
 <b>Farewell Terrane</b>, Upper Katian strata, western Alaska
 (Rasmussen et al., 2012). <b>Hudson Bay</b>, Churchill River
 Group (Jin et al., 1997). <b>Manitoba</b>, Stony Mountain
 Formation (Jin and Zhan, 2001). <b>Mackenzie Mountains</b>,
 western marginal platform; lower Whittaker Formation (updated, this
 study). <b>Iowa</b>, upper Maquoketa Group (Wang, 1949).
 <b>Texas</b>, Montoya Group, Trans-Pecos Texas (Howe and Reso,
 1967). <b>Tennessee</b>, Fernvale Formation (Howe, 1988).
 <b>Oklahoma</b>, Unit 3C, Viola Springs Formation (Alberstaft,
 1973). <b>Wyoming</b>, Bighorn Dolomite (Macomber, 1970).
 <b>Avalonia</b>: England–Wales–southern Ireland (Cocks, 2008).
 <b>Baltica</b>, Estonia and Lithuania, Pirgu Stage
 (Paškevičius, 1994; Hints and Harper, 2003; Rõõmusoks, 2004).
 <b>Boda Limestone</b>, Sweden, Baltica (Cocks, 2005).
 <b>Gorny Altai</b>, Orlov Horizon (Kulkov and Severgina,
 1989). <b>Kazakhstan</b>, upper Chokpar Formation and
 Dulankara Horizon, Dulankara, (Nikitin et al. 2006).
 <b>Scotland</b>, Girvan district, (Cocks, 2008).
 <b>Sette-Daban</b>, Siberian Platform, Nirunda and Bur
 horizons (Rozman, 1970; Yadrenkina, 1978). <b>South China</b>,
 Xiazhen Formation, JYC area (Zhan and Cocks, 1998).<b>
 Taimyr</b>, Siberian Platform, Korotkinskaya Formation (Cocks and
 Modzalevskaya, 1997; Modzalevskaya; 2003). Faunal data
 collected and updated based on primary taxonomic publications: 
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description: The dataset is binary: present = 1, absent = 0