New Pennsylvanian (Moscovian) echinoderms from Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, western China

Abstract:The few Pennsylvanian echinoderm faunas reported from the Paleotethys are from China,Japan, and Australia. The Japanese and Chinese faunascontain camerates that are rare in Pennsylvanianfaunas worldwide.Genera of one monobathrid camerate, two disparids, five cladids, one flexible, oneblastoid, and one archaeocidarid are reported from the late Moscovian uppermost part of the QijiagouFormation or lowermost part of the Aoertu Formation in the Taoshigo Valley near Taoshuyuan Village,Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. They are here referred to as the Aoertu fauna, which ismost closely allied with Pennsylvanian crinoids reported from a slightly older fauna from the QijiagouFormation in the Taoshigo Valley and with faunas known from Japan and North America. Most taxa areidentified to the genus level and left in open nomenclature because of poor or partial preservation. Inaddition, camerate-ossicles and a cup of Synbathocrinus are reported from the early Moscovian part ofthe Sanquanzi Formation at Yamansu, southeast of the Taoshigo Valley. New taxa described are:Synbathocrinus labrus n. sp., Stellarocrinus qijiagouensis n. sp. and Metaperimestocrinus aoertuensi