Dignomia munsterii (Brachiopoda, Lingulata) from the Ordovician of Bolivia, with redescription of the genus

Specimens of Dignomia have been recorded in the Anzaldo Formation (Upper Ordovician) in three localities in the Cochabamba area of the Cordillera Oriental, Bolivia. They had been attributed to Lingula munsterii d’Orbigny, 1842 found in company with L. submarginata d’Orbigny, 1850, both are indubitable Dignomia. These species were collected in the Cordillera Oriental in the Cochabamba region and in the Chuquisaca area, near Zudáñez the type locality and belong in fact to Dignomia. Dignomia munsterii is described and a new generic diagnosis is proposed. The emended diagnosis is based on characters of the shell and anatomic traits that permit its recognition as a discrete genus of the Lingulidae, the family to which it belongs. The type species is Lingula alveata Hall, 1863. Dignomia is found in strata ranging in age from Lower Silurian to Middle Devonian in North and South America. At least six previously described species can be referred to Dignomia but all are inadequately described without reference to the scars indicating the sites of attachment of the visceral organs.