Permian brachiopods from Yamasuge in the Kuzu area, Ashio Mountains, central Japan, Part 2

In this second manuscript in a series, additional brachiopods, consisting of 14 species in 13 genera, are described from the lower part of the Nabeyama Formation (Parafusulina yabei Zone) of Yamasuge in the Kuzu area, Ashio Mountains, central Japan. This fauna includes a new species, Metriolepis kuzuensis. Reassessment of the Yamasuge fauna indicates an Early Permian (Kungurian) age. In terms of palaeobiogeography, the fauna is characterized by a mixture of North American (West Texas) and Tethyan elements, and without Boreal elements. The observations suggest that in the Early Permian (Kungurian) the depositional site of the Nabeyama Formation was located in an equatorial region of the Panthalassa, proximal to West Texas