Paleocommunity composition, relative abundance, and new camerate crinoids from the Brechin Lagerstätte (Upper Ordovician)

The Brechin Lagerstätte of southern Ontario contains an exceptionally diverse and well-preserved Late Ordovician (Katian) crinoid fauna. Here, we describe four genera and eight species of camerate crinoids from the Brechin Lagerstätte, including six new species. Consequently, the total diversity of the fauna now stands at 27 genera and 39 nominal species, thereby making it the most taxonomically diverse Ordovician crinoid fauna known. Taxa described herein include the diplobathrid Pararchaeocrinus kiddi n. sp. and the monobathrids Glyptocrinus ramulosus, Periglyptocrinus priscus, Periglyptocrinus astricus n. sp., Periglyptocrinus kevinbretti n. sp., Periglyptocrinus mcdonaldi n. sp., Periglyptocrinus silvosus n. sp., and Abludoglyptocrinus steinheimerae n. sp.

We summarize the taxonomic composition, diversity, and abundance distribution of all known crinoids from the Brechin Lagerstätte to better characterize the paleoecological structure and complexity of the community. We establish...