First record of the Early Carboniferous ammonoid genus Goniatites from the Greater Karatau (Kazakhstan palaeocontinent)

<p>The Late Viséan ammonoid genus Goniatites had a near-global distribution within the tropical seas but was rarely reported from Central Asia. New investigations of the Early Carboniferous sedimentary succession in the Greater Karatau of Kazakhstan revealed a species-poor new assemblage with Goniatites and assists in the biostratigraphic subdivision of the section. The new species Goniatites zhankurganensis and G. abaiensis are described; these species have a morphological position at both ends of the morphological spectrum of the genus.</p>