UPPER ORDOVICIAN BRACHIOPODS FROM THE SAN BENITO FORMATION, CORDILLERA DEL TUNARI, BOLIVIA

The brachiopod fauna from the San Benito Formation of Bolivia, of late Sandbian-Katian age, is re-studied on the basis of material collected in the Cordillera del Tunari. The new heterorthid genus Tunaria is erected to include the species Orthis berthoisi? var. erratica Davidson, 1869 (formerly attributed to Drabovinella) from England, France and Spain, and the new species Tunaria cocksi from Bolivia. The fauna also includes the first record in South America of Rafinesquina pseudoloricata (Barrande), and Hirnantia cf. transgrediens (Havlicek). Overall, the low diversity San Benito fauna corroborates the Mediterranean biogeographic signature of Central Andean brachiopod assemblages.