Paleontological data from the late Paleozoic strata of western Yunnan, southwestern China, have played significant roles in understanding the history of the Cimmerian continental blocks and the Paleotethys Ocean. In this paper, we describe and illustrate brachiopod fossils from the early to middle Permian strata of western Yunnan, China. These brachiopods were collected from three beds of the Shanmutang section, and composed of three assemblages, which in ascending order include the Elivina-Etherilosia Assemblage from the top of the Kongshuhe Formation, the Spiriferella-Spiriferellina Assemblage from the base of the Dadongchang Formation, and the Waagenites-Costiferina Assemblage from the lower part of the Dadongchang Formation. The first assemblage is considered to be most likely late Sakmarian to early Artinskian, the second assemblage probably late Artinskian, and the third assemblage late Roadian to early Wordian in age. It is noticed that there is a transition from cool-water brachiopod faunas with Gondwanan affinities to mixed warm-temperate (transitional) faunas with Cathaysian elements during the Artinskian and through the Guadalupian. We consider that this phenomenon probably resulted from the Gondwana deglaciation and the northward drift of the peri-Gondwanan blocks (including the Tengchong Block) during the Cisuralian and Guadalupian.

The early to middle Permian brachiopods from the Tengchong Block in western Yunnan, southwestern China, play important roles in biostratigraphic correlation and paleogeographic inferences of tectonic units on eastern peri-Gondwana. However, detailed taxonomic studies of these brachiopods have been limited. In this paper, we provide the systematic description of three Permian brachiopod assemblages from the Shanmutang section in the northern Tengchong Block, which in ascending order include the Elivina-Etherilosia Assemblage from the top of the Kongshuhe Formation, and the Spiriferella-Spiriferellina Assemblage and the Waagenites-Costiferina Assemblage from the base and lower part, respectively, of the overlying Dadongchang Formation. Based on the biostratigraphic assessment of the brachiopod taxa as well as the age constraints from the associated fusulinid assemblages, the age of the Elivina-Etherilosia Assemblage is considered to be most likely late Sakmarian to early Artinskian, the Spiriferella-Spiriferellina Assemblage probably late Artinskian, and the Waagenites-Costiferina Assemblage late Roadian to early Wordian. A transition from cool-water faunas with Gondwanan affinities to mixed warm-temperate (transitional) faunas with Cathaysian elements is evident for the Artinskian and through the Guadalupian. The climatic transition inferred from the faunal evidence is interpreted to have resulted from the combined effect of Gondwana deglaciation and the northward drift of the peri-Gondwanan blocks (including the Tengchong Block) during the Cisuralian and Guadalupian.