This paper presents an attempt at generating a relatively consistent taxonomy for latest Silurian (Pridoli) to Middle Devonian (Givetian) brachiopods of the Asia-Australia hemisphere from the west flank of the Urals (and eastern part of the Russian Platform) through to Australia and New Zealand. It forms part of what was intended to be a wider project that planned to deal with revision of Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous (Visean) brachiopod taxonomy as well, conjoined with a hemisphere-wide re-correlation of stratigraphic units for the above intervals and, inter alia, exercises in numerical biogeographic analysis based on revised data. The present monograph has had a long gestation period. The project, formulated at the XIV Pacific Science Congress (Khabarovsk, 1979), was initially entitled "Devonian palaeobiogeography in relation to crustal evolution in the Asia-Australia hemisphere".