Mooreocrinus liaoi sp. nov. (Crinoidea, Echinodermata) from the Pennsylvanian (Upper Carboniferous) Outangdi Formation in Zhejiang, South China Block

A new crinoid species of the Order Cladida, <em>Mooreocrinus liaoi</em> Mao and Li sp. nov. , is described from the Pennsylvanian (Upper Carboniferous) Outangdi Formation in Jiangshan, Zhejiang Province, representing the first record of <em>Mooreocrinus</em> Wright &amp; Strimple, 1945 in China. The presence of <em>Mooreocrinus </em>in the South China Block extends the palaeogeographic record of this genus and indicates it to be a cosmopolitan taxon. Three other ancient tectonically-separated areas that are now combined into the modern China mass (Sibumasu, Junggar, North China) do not contain any record of <em>Mooreocrinus</em>. Overall, there is low biodiversity of the Late Paleozoic crinoid faunas in the South China Block. Our new materials provide further evidence for diversity assessment of crinoid faunas in peri-Gondwana blocks.