Mississippian (Tournaisian) brachiopods from the Hook Head Formation, County Wexford (south-east Ireland)

peer reviewedA diverse Tournaisian (Carboniferous, Mississippian) brachiopod fauna has been recorded within the stratotype of the tempestite-dominated Hook Head Formation at Hook Head, County Wexford (south-east Ireland). The Hook Head Formation (335 m thick), which mainly consists of interbedded limestones of tempestite origin and shales, deposited on a shelf–ramp and yielded a rich invertebrate fauna (crinoids, bryozoans, corals, etc.). Thirty-three brachiopod species, of which one is new (Rugosochonetes sleemani), assigned to 29 genera, have been recognized. The brachiopod fauna is dominated by productides and spire-bearers (athyridides, spiriferides, and spiriferinides) and shares strong similarities with those reported in Wales and southern Belgium (Namur–Dinant Basin), which derived from the same palaeogeographical context