Two Permian lyttoniid brachiopods from Akasaka, central Japan

Abstract

Two lyttoniid brachiopod species, Coscinophora magnifica Cooper and Grant, 1974 and Leptodus nobilis (Waagen, 1883) are described from the Middle and Upper Permian limestones in the Akasaka district, Mino Belt, central Japan. The Permian brachiopod fauna of Akasaka is characterized by a mixture of both Tethyan and North American elements. The fauna is considered to have occupied a mid-equatorial region of the Panthalassa Ocean in Permian time.