Latest Mississippian (Namurian A) nonmarine ostracodes from West Virginia and Virginia

Nonmarine ostracodes occur as partly exfoliated carapaces and internal molds at the base of the Bramwell Member of the Bluestone Formation, which represents the uppermost Mississippian (Namurian A), stratigraphic subdivision in West Virginia and Virginia. These specimens are important in that they permit the determination of a variety of adductor-muscle-attachment scars. The adductor-muscle-attachment scar patterns illustrated herein for the first time are the oldest recorded in North America for nonmarine ostracodes. The new family Carbonitidae and superfamily Carbonitacea are established on the basis of the pattern of adductor-muscle-attachment scars. The following nonmarine genera in this unit are illustrated in open nomenclature: Carbonita Strand, 1928; Whipplella? Holland, 1934; Gutschickia Scott, 1944; Pruvostina? Scott and Summerson, 1943; Darwinula Brady and Robertson, 1885; and two steinkerns of geisinid ostracodes, 'Pseudo-ornamentation' on molds is illustrated.