Guadalupian (Middle Permian) radiolarian and sponge spicule faunas from the Bancheng Formation of the Qinzhou allochthon, South China

Abstract

The Gujingling (古井岭) Section in Xiaodong (小董), Guangxi (广西) Zhuang Autonomous Region, China, consists of cherts and siliceous siltstones, which belongs to the Bancheng (板城) Formation of the Qinzhou (钦州) allochthon. Three successive radiolarian assemblage-zones related to the Guadalupian (Middle Permian) appear in the section in the following ascending order: Pseudoalbaillella sp. aff. Pseudoalbaillella longicornis-Pseudoalbaillella fusiformis, Follicucullus monacanthus, and Follicucullus scholasticus-Follicucullus porrectus. The radiolarian content in this section is generally greater than that of sponge spicules. The radiolarian fauna commonly consists of abundant Albaillellaria and spherical radiolaria with minor Latentifistularia and Entactinaria. The sponge fauna is composed mainly of hexactinellids with minor demosponges. These siliceous fossil faunal features, comparable with those in a deep basin of the western belt of the Phosphoria Basin in the western United States, indicate that the Bancheng Formation in the Gujingling Section was deposited in a basin deeper than 1 000 m. The siliceous siltstones in the section are characterized by inclusion of silt-sized quartz and no inclusion of sand-sized materials, suggesting that the Gujingling Section was located at least a few hundred kilometers from the South China Block in the Guadalupian.

Keywords

radiolarian fossil / sponge spicule / Guadalupian (Middle Permian) / Bancheng Formation / Qinzhou allochthon / paleobathymetry

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