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Late Triassic (late + triassic)
Selected AbstractsThe cranial morphology of Kayentachelys, an Early Jurassic cryptodire, and the early history of turtlesACTA ZOOLOGICA, Issue 3 2010Eugene S. Gaffney Abstract Gaffney, E.S. and Jenkins, F.A., Jr. 2010. The cranial morphology of Kayentachelys, an Early Jurassic cryptodire, and the early history of turtles. , Acta Zoologica (Stockholm) 91: 335,368 The skull morphology of Kayentachelys aprixGaffney et al., 1987, a turtle from the Early Jurassic Kayenta Fm of northern Arizona, demonstrates the presence of cryptodiran synapomorphies in agreement with Gaffney et al. (1987, 1991, 2007), and contrary to the conclusions of Sterli and Joyce (2007), Joyce (2007), Sterli (2008), and Anquetin et al. (2008). Specific characters found in Kayentachelys and diagnostic of cryptodires include the processus trochlearis oticum, the curved processus pterygoideus externus with a vertical plate, and the prefrontal,vomer contact, which are confirmed as absent in the outgroups, specifically the Late Triassic Proganochelys. The Joyce (2007) analysis suffers from the reduction of the signal from skull characters, with a consequently greater reliance on shell characters, resulting in pleurodires being resolved at various positions within the cryptodires. Kayentachelys reveals what a primitive cryptodire would be expected to look like: a combination of primitive and derived characters, with the fewer derived characters providing the best test of its relationships to other turtles. Although incompletely known, the Mid-Late Jurassic Condorchelys, Heckeremys, and Eileanchelys may be early cryptodires close to Kayentachelys. We confirm the Late Triassic Proterochersis as a pleurodire, dating the pleurodire,cryptodire split as Late Triassic or earlier. [source] Mesozoic,Paleogene sedimentary facies and paleogeography of Tibet, western China: tectonic implicationsGEOLOGICAL JOURNAL, Issue 3 2002Kai-Jun Zhang Abstract In Early,Middle Triassic time, an abyssal sea covered most of the Songpan,Ganzi area, whereas a Central Tibetan Landmass, up to 400,km wide, may have stretched across the Lhasa and Western Qiangtang terrains. In Late Triassic time, the Songpan,Ganzi sea closed, the Central Tibetan Landmass receded westwards away from southern Western Qiangtang, a littoral environment dominated Eastern Qiangtang, middle Western Qiangtang, and southeastern Lhasa, a shelf environment existed only in northern and southeastern Western Qiangtang and northwestern Eastern Qiangtang, and abyssal flysch was spread along the eastern Bangonghu,Nüjiang zone. In Early,Middle Jurassic time, Songpan,Ganzi had become part of the Eurasian continent, abyssal flysch sediments stretched throughout the Bangonghu,Nüjiang zone, the Central Tibetan Landmass was only locally present in southwestern Lhasa, and the Tethyan epicontinental sea nearly covered all Tibet southwest of the Jinsajiang suture. In Late Jurassic time, oceanic flysch deposition existed only along the westernmost Bangonghu,Nüjiang zone, nearly all of Tibet was covered by coastal deposits, and shelf deposits existed only in northern Western Qiangtang and westernmost Lhasa. In the early stage of Early Cretaceous time, the majority of Qiangtang had become dry land, and a supralittoral environment dominated across the entire Lhasa terrain. However, during the late stage of the Early Cretaceous time, platform,shelf carbonates prevailed on southern Western Qiangtang and northern Lhasa. In Late Cretaceous time, the majority of Qiangtang had become emergent land, and a supratidal environment dominated Lhasa, the western rim of Western Qiangtang, and Tarim. In Paleogene time, the majority of Tibet became emergent land, and a supratidal environment existed only on the southern and western rims. The dominance of Upper Triassic,Jurassic shelf carbonates on the northwestern Eastern Qiangtang corner and the northern Western Qiangtang rim suggests a diachronous closing of the Jinsajiang paleo-Tethys ocean, first during latest Triassic time when the Eastern Qiangtang terrain collided with Asia and finally in Jurassic time when the Western Qiangtang terrain was amalgamated to Asia. Rich picotites in Upper Triassic sandstones of middle Qiangtang suggest that the Shuanghu suture could have extended along the middle of Qiangtang, and stable shelf sedimentation during Late Triassic,Middle Jurassic time in the Western Qiangtang terrain shows that the suture probably could not have formed until Middle Jurassic time. The opening time of the Bangonghu,Nüjiang mid-Tethys ocean could be Late Triassic time due to the existence of the Central Tibetan Landmass across Western Qiangtang and Lhasa during Early,Middle Triassic time. However, its opening was diachronous, at Late Triassic time in the east and at Early,Middle Jurassic time in the west. Furthermore, its closing was also diachronous, first in the east at the beginning of Late Jurassic time and later in the west in latest Jurassic to earliest Cretaceous time. Widespread upper Lower Cretaceous limestone up to 5,km thick over the northern half of Lhasa indicates that southern Tibet could have undergone an extensive backarc subsidence during late Early Cretaceous time. Continuous shallow marine sedimentation through the entire Cretaceous time over much of southern Tibet indicates that southern Tibet was intensely elevated only after the end of Paleogene time, its high topography being the product of the Indo-Asian collision. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Role of southeastern Sanandaj,Sirjan Zone in the tectonic evolution of Zagros Orogenic Belt, IranISLAND ARC, Issue 4 2009Ramin Arfania Abstract Geological studies indicate that the southeastern Sanandaj,Sirjan Zone, located in the southeastern Zagros Orogenic Belt, is subdivided transversally into the Esfahan,Sirjan Block with typical Central Iranian stratigraphic features and the Shahrekord,Dehsard Terrane consisting of Paleozoic and Lower Mesozoic metamorphic rocks. The Main Deep Fault (Abadeh Fault) is a major lithospheric fault separating the two parts. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the role of the southeastern Sanandaj,Sirjan Zone in the tectonic evolution of the southeastern Zagros Orogenic Belt on the basis of geological evidence. The new model implies that Neo-Tethys 1 came into being when the Central Iran Microcontinent split from the northeastern margin of Gondwana during the Late Carboniferous to Early Permian. During the Late Triassic a new spreading ridge, Neo-Tethys 2, was created to separate the Shahrekord,Dehsard Terrane from Afro,Arabian Plate. The Zagros sedimentary basin was formed on a continental passive margin, southwest of Neo-Tethys 2. The two ophiolitic belts of Naien,Shahrebabak,Baft and Neyriz were developed to the northeast of Neo-Tethys 1 and southwest of Neo-Tethys 2 respectively, related to the sinking of the lithosphere of the Neo-Tethys 1 in the Late Cretaceous. It can be concluded that deposition of the Paleocene conglomerate on the Central Iran Microcontinent and Pliocene conglomerate in the Zagros Sedimentary Basin is directly linked to the uplift generated by collision. [source] SHRIMP U-Pb zircon dating from Sulu-Dabie dolomitic marble, eastern China: constraints on prograde, ultrahigh-pressure and retrograde metamorphic agesJOURNAL OF METAMORPHIC GEOLOGY, Issue 7 2006F. L. LIU Abstract Laser Raman spectroscopy and cathodoluminescence (CL) images show that zircon from Sulu-Dabie dolomitic marbles is characterized by distinctive domains of inherited (detrital), prograde, ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) and retrograde metamorphic growths. The inherited zircon domains are dark-luminescent in CL images and contain mineral inclusions of Qtz + Cal + Ap. The prograde metamorphic domains are white-luminescent in CL images and preserve a quartz eclogite facies assemblage of Qtz + Dol + Grt + Omp + Phe + Ap, formed at 542,693 °C and 1.8,2.1 GPa. In contrast, the UHP metamorphic domains are grey-luminescent in CL images, retain the UHP assemblage of Coe + Grt + Omp + Arg + Mgs + Ap, and record UHP conditions of 739,866 °C and >5.5 GPa. The outermost retrograde rims have dark-luminescent CL images, and contain low- P minerals such as calcite, related to the regional amphibolite facies retrogression. Laser ablation ICP-MS trace-element data show striking difference between the inherited cores of mostly magmatic origin and zircon domains grown in response to prograde, UHP and retrograde metamorphism. SHRIMP U-Pb dating on these zoned zircon identified four discrete 206Pb/238U age groups: 1823,503 Ma is recorded in the inherited (detrital) zircon derived from various Proterozoic protoliths, the prograde domains record the quartz eclogite facies metamorphism at 254,239 Ma, the UHP growth domains occurred at 238,230 Ma, and the late amphibolite facies retrogressive overprint in the outermost rims was restricted to 218,206 Ma. Thus, Proterozoic continental materials of the Yangtze craton were subducted to 55,60 km depth during the Early Triassic and recrystallized at quartz eclogite facies conditions. Then these metamorphic rocks were further subducted to depths of 165,175 km in the Middle Triassic and experienced UHP metamorphism, and finally these UHP metamorphic rocks were exhumed to mid-crustal levels (about 30 km) in the Late Triassic and overprinted by regional amphibolite facies metamorphism. The subduction and exhumation rates deduced from the SHRIMP data and metamorphic P,T conditions are 9,10 km Myr,1 and 6.4 km Myr,1, respectively, and these rapid subduction,exhumation rates may explain the obtained P,T,t path. Such a fast exhumation suggests that Sulu-Dabie UHP rocks that returned towards crustal depths were driven by buoyant forces, caused as a consequence of slab breakoff at mantle depth. [source] POTENTIAL STRUCTURAL TRAPS ASSOCIATED WITH LOWER CARBONIFEROUS SALT IN THE NORTHERN TARIM BASIN, NW CHINAJOURNAL OF PETROLEUM GEOLOGY, Issue 1 2004Jiangyu Zhou In the Aixieke-Santamu area of the northern Tarim Basin (NW China), 45 relatively low amplitude structures related to the plastic flow of Lower Carboniferous salt have been discovered in the Lower Carboniferous Kalashayi Formation and the Middle-Upper Triassic Akekule and Halahatan Formations. Three small hydrocarbon accumulations have so far been located at the margins of a Lower Carboniferous salt body (measuring about 55km x 75km and 115,225m thick, controlled by wells and 2D and 3D seismic sections). In this paper, we consider the development of this salt body and discuss possible reasons why vertical diapirs are absent from the study area. We attempt to develop a model of salt flow and we investigate the relationship between salt flow and the occurrence of oil and gas traps. Using recently-acquired high-resolution 2D and 3D seismic profiles, we show that the Lower Carboniferous salt has undergone three separate phases of plastic flow. At the end of the Early Permian, the salt flowed southwards by 2.0,2.8 km; then, during the Late Triassic,Early Jurassic, it flowed in the same direction by 1.0,1.8 km; and finally at the end of the Tertiary, it flowed northwards by 0.6,1.5 km. These movements resulted in the formation of various types of structural trap in the Kalashayi, Akekule and Halahatan Formations including salt ridge anticlines, domes and marginal troughs. Salt ridge and salt edge low-amplitude anticlines are probably the most important targets for future hydrocarbon exploration. [source] UPPER TRIASSIC-MIDDLE JURASSIC STRATIGRAPHY AND SEDIMENTOLOGY IN THE NE QAIDAM BASIN, NW CHINA: PETROLEUM GEOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF NEW OUTCROP AND SUBSURFACE DATAJOURNAL OF PETROLEUM GEOLOGY, Issue 4 2003Yang Yongtai Although Mesozoic source and reservoir rocks are known to occur at oilfields in the northern Qaidam Basin (NW China), the precise identification and distribution of Mesozoic rocks in the subsurface are outstanding problems. The Dameigou locality has in the past been considered as the type section for Lower-Middle Jurassic strata in northern Qaidam. Previous studies have concluded that the onset of non-marine sedimentation here took place in the Early Jurassic; and that Mesozoic strata penetrated by wells in the Lenghu structural zone are Middle Jurassic. In this paper, we present new data from the Lengke-1 well, drilled in the Lenghu structural zone in 1997. This data indicates the existence of a more extensive pre-Middle Jurassic stratigraphy than has previously been recognized. Biostratigraphic data together with regional seismic mapping suggest that the pre-Middle Jurassic succession at Lengke-1 includes both Late Triassic and Early Jurassic deposits. The Late Triassic sedimentary rocks appear to have been deposited in local half graben, some of which were later inverted during Jurassic, Cretaceous and Cenozoic tectonism. Lower and Middle Jurassic strata (lacustrine and fluvial deposits) are present in the SW and NE parts of the Lenghu structural zone, respectively. Extensive organic-rich intervals are present in both successions. Lower Jurassic lacustrine mudstones may represent a previously under-appreciated, and potentially large, source rock sequence. [source] Bone histology of Silesaurus opolensisDzik, 2003 from the Late Triassic of PolandLETHAIA, Issue 2 2010UCJA FOSTOWICZ-FRELIK Fostowicz-Frelik, ,. & Sulej, T. 2009: Bone histology of Silesaurus opolensisDzik, 2003 from the Late Triassic of Poland. Lethaia, Vol. 43, pp. 137,148. The phylogenetic relationships of Silesaurus opolensis have been the subject of intense debate since its discovery. Silesaurus possesses some features characteristic of ornithischian dinosaurs, such as the presence of a beak at the front of the lower jaw, yet it lacks a number of important femoral and dental synapomorphies of Dinosauria. The microstructure of the long bones (femur, tibia and metatarsal) and ribs of this species reveals a relatively intensive rate of growth, comparable with that seen in small dinosaurs and the gracile crocodylomorph Terrestrisuchus. Cortical bone formed mainly by periosteal tissue with fibro-lamellar matrix (in older specimens parallel fibred) shows very little secondary remodelling and only in one specimen (large tibia ZPAL Ab III/1885) few lines of arrested growth are present in the outermost cortex. The vascularization is relatively dense, mainly longitudinal and ceases towards the periphery, forming almost avascular parallel fibred bone at the bone surface. This indicates maturation and significant decrease in the growth ratio in mature specimens of S. opolensis. The delicate trabeculae exhibit cores formed by the primary cancellous tissue lined with lamellar endosteal bone. The rather intense growth of S. opolensis implies a relatively high metabolic rate. Moreover, evidence from the fibro-lamellar tissue, predominant in the cortex, suggests that this kind of rapid bone deposition could be more typical of Archosauria than previously assumed, a prerequisite for the evolution of the very fast growth rates observed in large ornithischians, sauropods and large theropods. ,Archosauria, Bone histology, Dinosauriformes, Late Triassic, Silesaurus opolensis. [source] High diversity dinoflagellate cyst assemblages from the Late Triassic of southern England: new information on early dinoflagellate evolution and palaeogeographyLETHAIA, Issue 4 2006Raffaella Bucefalo Palliani Abundant and diverse dinoflagellate cyst assemblages from the Rhaetian of southern England are characterized by the occurrence of a new species of Rhaetogonyaulax, some undescribed taxa and numerous forms with Arctic and Australasian affinities. The dinoflagellate cyst assemblages permit a discussion of the palaeogeographic distribution of dinoflagellate cysts in the Late Triassic. The hypothesis on a Late Triassic migration event of organic walled microplankton from higher latitudes to the Boreal domain is presented. [source] A new taxon of phytosaur (Archosauria: Pseudosuchia) from the Late Triassic (Norian) Sonsela Member (Chinle Formation) in Arizona, and a critical reevaluation of Leptosuchus Case, 1922PALAEONTOLOGY, Issue 5 2010MICHELLE R. STOCKER Abstract:,Leptosuchus Case, 1922 (Reptilia: Phytosauria) from the Late Triassic of the American West is represented by many specimens. Here, I present complete morphological descriptions of the skull material of a new taxon from the Sonsela Member (Chinle Formation) of Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona, with the first rigorous phylogenetic analysis focused on the interrelationships of Leptosuchus. The new taxon is recovered as the sister taxon to Pseudopalatinae. It possesses one unambiguous synapomorphy (the ,septomaxillae' form part of the lateral borders of the nares) and shares the presence of a subsidiary opisthotic process with Pseudopalatinae. The new taxon does not fall within the restricted clade Leptosuchus. In my analysis, the previously proposed, but undemonstrated, sister taxon relationship between Angistorhinus and Rutiodon is not supported, Paleorhinus is recovered as paraphyletic, and a subset of taxa traditionally included within Leptosuchus are found to be more closely related to Pseudopalatinae, rendering Leptosuchus paraphyletic. ,Leptosuchus'adamanensis emerges as sister taxon to Smilosuchus gregorii and is here referred to as Smilosuchus adamanensis nov. comb., and ,Machaeroprosopus'lithodendrorum is also transferred to Smilosuchus lithodendrorum nov. comb. Documentation of the variation present within Phytosauria, and specifically within Leptosuchus sensu lato, demonstrates higher diversity within Phytosauria than previously appreciated and places the character states previously proposed for Pseudopalatinae into a broader context of shared characters. [source] THE AERODYNAMICS OF THE BRITISH LATE TRIASSIC KUEHNEOSAURIDAEPALAEONTOLOGY, Issue 4 2008KOEN STEIN Abstract:, The Kuehneosauridae (Late Triassic, Britain, USA) had remarkable adaptations, most notably their elongate mid-dorsal ribs that were presumably covered with a skin membrane in life. These lateral ,wings' have always been linked with some form of gliding adaptation, but quantitative studies have been limited. Here, we provide a thorough aerodynamic analysis of both genera of British kuehneosaurids based on theory and on experiments with life-sized models in a wind tunnel. Of the two genera, Kuehneosuchus, with elongate ,wings', was a glider, and Kuehneosaurus, with much shorter ,wings', was a parachutist. Kuehneosuchus most probably had highly cambered wings and no additional skin membranes on hands or feet, nor did it have a cruropatagium. Lappets on the hyoid apparatus, as seen in Draco, were probably present to enhance pitch control. Kuehneosuchus was capable of gliding at angles (,) between 13 and 16 degrees, at speeds between 7 and 9 m/s, and was probably very manoeuvrable when airborne. Kuehneosaurus was capable of parachuting (, > 45 degrees) at speeds between 10 and 12 m/s. It is unclear whether the British kuehneosaurid material represents two genera, as assumed here, two species of one genus, or sexual dimorphs of a single species, where the gliding Kuehneosuchus was the male, which used its gliding and perhaps highly coloured ,wings' to display to the parachuting Kuehneosaurus. [source] A NEW SPECIES OF CLEVOSAURUS (LEPIDOSAURIA: RHYNCHOCEPHALIA) FROM THE UPPER TRIASSIC OF RIO GRANDE DO SUL, BRAZILPALAEONTOLOGY, Issue 4 2006JOSÉ F. BONAPARTE Abstract:, Well-preserved cranial remains of a small sphenodontian lepidosaur from the Upper Triassic Caturrita Formation of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, are the first record of the genus Clevosaurus Swinton, 1939 from South America. They represent a new species, Clevosaurus brasiliensis, which is distinguished by a very short antorbital region of the skull (corresponding to about 20 per cent of skull length) and the presence of teeth in addition to two longitudinal rows on the pterygoid. C. brasiliensis most closely resembles C. bairdi from the Lower Jurassic of Nova Scotia (Canada) and C. mcgilli from the Lower Jurassic of Yunnan (China). The discovery of Clevosaurus in the Upper Triassic of southern Brazil provides a significant range extension of this widely distributed sphenodontian genus. Along with other recent finds, it also suggests that there may have been less biotic provincialism among terrestrial vertebrates during the Late Triassic than has previously been assumed. [source] A Primitive Late Triassic ,ictidosaur' from Rio Grande Do Sul, BrazilPALAEONTOLOGY, Issue 4 2001José F. Bonaparte A primitive ,ictidosaur' from lower Norian beds of southern Brazil, Riograndia guaibensis gen. et sp. nov., represented by a fragmentary skull and a lower jaw bearing a complete dentition, shows a more generalized morphology than Chaliminia from the Upper Triassic of Argentina and PachygenelusDiarthrognathus from the Lower Jurassic of South Africa, Canada and Greenland. The frontal bone borders the orbit, and ventrally contacts the dorsal process of the palatine. The secondary bony palate extends back to the last postcanine. I1 and i2 are reduced, whereas I2-3 and i1 are hypertrophied. Both PC 1,7 and pc 1,7 have blade-like crowns without cingula and with 5,9 small sharp cuspules. The upper postcanine crowns are semicircular in labial view with the cuspules around their margins. The lower postcanine crowns are asymmetrical with most of the cuspules dorsodistally distributed. The possible origin of this peculiar dentition is interpreted as the retention of the juvenile dentition of ancestors. The hypothesis that Riograndia guaibensis and the so-called ,ictidosaurs' might have been derived from gomphodont cynodonts is presented. [source] Geology, Wall-rock Alteration and Vein Paragenesis of the Bilimoia Gold Deposit, Kainantu Metallogenic Region, Papua New GuineaRESOURCE GEOLOGY, Issue 3 2007Joseph Onglo Espi Abstract The Bilimoia deposit (2.23 Mt, 24 g/t Au), located in the eastern Central Mobile Belt of mainland Papua New Guinea, is composed of fault-hosted, NW,NNW-trending Irumafimpa,Kora and Judd,Upper Kora Au-quartz veins hosted by Middle,Late Triassic basement that was metamorphosed to medium-grade greenschist facies between Middle,Late Triassic and Early,Middle Jurassic. Mineralizing fluids were introduced during crustal thickening, rapid uplift, change of plate motions from oblique to orthogonal compression, active faulting and S3 and S4 events in an S1,S4 deformation sequence. The Bilimoia deposit is spatially and temporally related to I-type, early intermediate to felsic and late mafic intrusions emplaced in Late Miocene (9,7 Ma). Hydrothermal alteration and associated mineralization is divided into 10 main paragenetic stages: (1) chlorite,epidote-selvaged quartz,calcite,specularite vein; (2) local quartz,illite,pyrite alteration; (3) quartz,sericite,mariposite,fuchsite,pyrite wall-rock alteration that delimits the bounding shears; (4) finely banded, colloform-, crustiform- and cockade-textured and drusy quartz ± early wolframite ± late adularia; (5) hematite; (6) pyrite; (7) quartz ± amethyst-base metal sulfides; (8) quartz,chalcopyrite,bornite,Sn and Cu sulfides,Au tellurides and Te ± Bi ± Ag ± Cu ± Pb phases; (9) Fe ± Mn carbonates; and (10) supergene overprint. Fluid inclusions in stage 4 are characterized by low salinity (0.9,5.4 wt% NaCl equivalent), aqueous,carbonic fluids with total homogenization temperatures ranging from 210 to 330°C. Some of the inclusions that homogenized between 285 and 330°C host coexisting liquid- and vapor-rich (including carbonic) phases, suggesting phase separation. Fluid inclusions in quartz intergrown with wolframite have low salinity (0.9,1.2 wt% NaCl equivalent), aqueous,carbonic fluids at 240,260°C, defining the latter's depositional conditions. The ore fluids were derived from oxidized magmatic source initially contaminated by reduced basement rocks. Wall-rock alteration and involvement of circulating meteoric waters were dominant during the first three stages and early part of stage 4. Stage 5 hematite was deposited as a result of stage 4 phase separation or entrainment of oxygenated groundwater. Gold is associated with Te- and Bi-bearing minerals and mostly precipitated as gold-tellurides during stage 8. Gold deposition occurred below 350°C due to a change in the sulfidation and oxidation state of the fluids, depressurization and decreasing temperature and activities of sulfur and tellurium. Bisulfides are considered to be the main Au-transporting complexes. The Bilimoia deposit has affinities that are similar to many gold systems termed epizonal orogenic and intrusion-related. The current data allow us to classify the Bilimoia deposit as a fault-controlled, metamorphic-hosted, intrusion-related mesothermal to low sulfidation epithermal quartz,Au,Te,Bi vein system. [source] Granitoids and Their Magnetic Susceptibility in South KoreaRESOURCE GEOLOGY, Issue 3 2001Myung, Shik JIN Abstract: Magnetic susceptibility (MS) measurements were carried out for 1,120 samples in the Middle Proterozoic to Early Tertiary granitoids so far recognized in South Korea, and the lateral and spatial variation of their magnetic susceptibility, i.e., content of magnetite, is studied. The Middle Proterozoic two mica granitoids related to cassiterite (Sn) deposits in northeastern part of the Sobaegsan Massif show very low MS (less than 0.3 A- 10 -3 SI unit), and the Permo-Triassic tonalitic to granodioritic and monzonitic rocks which are barren in mineralization, distributed in the middle part of South Korea also show low MS (less than 1 A- 10 -3 SI unit). On the contrary the Late Triassic to Jurassic granitoids (= Daebo granitoids) which were evolved from tonalite through granodiorite to granite, and are most widely distributed in South Korea, show a wide variation on MS. Particularly in the Andong, Igsan, Gimcheon and Geochang areas, the granitoids which are barren in mineralization, are characterized by high MS (more than 10 A- 10 -3 SI unit). The Chuncheon, Jecheon, Namyang and Geumsan plutons related to molybdenite (Mo) and/or wolframite or scheelite (W), and fluorite (F) mineralizations show a little high MS (more than 3 A- 10 -3 SI unit). However, more than 60% of the Daebo granitoids show low MS (less than 3 A- 10 -3 SI unit) and the rest show a little high MS (more than 3 A- 10 -3 SI unit). Heterogeneous distribution of magnetite content in the Daebo granitoids is considered to reflect heterogeneity of redox state of the source materials for these granitoids. The Cretaceous to Early Tertiary granitoids (= Bulgugsa granitoids) in the Gyeongsang Basin had been generally evolved in the order of tonalite, diorite, granodiorite, granite and alkali-feldspar granites, which are closely related to base metal ore deposits, and mostly show higher MS (more than 3 A- 10 -3 SI unit) than other granitoids mentioned above, although some exceptions are recognized in highly evolved alkali-feldspar granites (SiO2 > 76%). In contrast, as most of the highly oxidized or evolved Cretaceous granitoids distributed in areas other than the Gyeongsang Basin show lower MS than those of the Gyeongsang Basin, and appear to be magnetite free, ilmenite-series granites, but they might be hematite bearing magnetite-series granitoids. Highly oxidized nature of the Bulgugsa granitoids may be due to high Fe2O3/FeO ratio of the source materials and also high level intrusion style of the granitic magma activities. Most of the granitic rocks of the Middle Proterozoic, Permo-Triassic and more than 60% of the Late Triassic to Jurassic (Daebo granitoids) belong to ilmenite,series, however less than 40% of the Daebo granitoids and most Cretaceous ones are magnetite,series. Thus, the granitic magma intruded in Korean Peninsula became oxidized while the intrusive ages become younger. [source] Synsedimentary tensional features in Upper Triassic shallow-water platform carbonates of the Carnian Prealps (northern Italy) and their importance as palaeostress indicatorsBASIN RESEARCH, Issue 2 2000Cozzi The extensive shallow-water carbonate platform deposits of the Dolomia Principale Formation (Southern Alps, northern Italy) accumulated during the Late Triassic, a time of plate-scale reorganization and rifting. Synsedimentary tensional features such as fractures, neptunian dykes, normal faults, shatter breccias and laterally discordant intraformational breccias have been studied within a well-preserved platform-to-basin transition in the Monte Pramaggiore area (Carnian Prealps). These tensional features follow three preferential orientations: N,S, E,W and NE,SW. To fully explain these different arrays it is proposed that the study area experienced during the Late Triassic the waning rifting phase connected to the westward propagation of the NeoTethys (N,S extension) and the onset of the rifting phase that led in the Middle Jurassic to the opening of the Central Atlantic (E,W extension), with a contemporaneous reactivation of Early,Middle Triassic NE,SW-orientated faults. This palaeostress analysis reveals the good potential of tensional features as reliable palaeostress indicators. [source] The origin and early evolution of dinosaursBIOLOGICAL REVIEWS, Issue 1 2010Max C. Langer The oldest unequivocal records of Dinosauria were unearthed from Late Triassic rocks (approximately 230 Ma) accumulated over extensional rift basins in southwestern Pangea. The better known of these are Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis, Pisanosaurus mertii, Eoraptor lunensis, and Panphagia protos from the Ischigualasto Formation, Argentina, and Staurikosaurus pricei and Saturnalia tupiniquim from the Santa Maria Formation, Brazil. No uncontroversial dinosaur body fossils are known from older strata, but the Middle Triassic origin of the lineage may be inferred from both the footprint record and its sister-group relation to Ladinian basal dinosauromorphs. These include the typical Marasuchus lilloensis, more basal forms such as Lagerpeton and Dromomeron, as well as silesaurids: a possibly monophyletic group composed of Mid-Late Triassic forms that may represent immediate sister taxa to dinosaurs. The first phylogenetic definition to fit the current understanding of Dinosauria as a node-based taxon solely composed of mutually exclusive Saurischia and Ornithischia was given as "all descendants of the most recent common ancestor of birds and Triceratops". Recent cladistic analyses of early dinosaurs agree that Pisanosaurus mertii is a basal ornithischian; that Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis and Staurikosaurus pricei belong in a monophyletic Herrerasauridae; that herrerasaurids, Eoraptor lunensis, and Guaibasaurus candelariensis are saurischians; that Saurischia includes two main groups, Sauropodomorpha and Theropoda; and that Saturnalia tupiniquim is a basal member of the sauropodomorph lineage. On the contrary, several aspects of basal dinosaur phylogeny remain controversial, including the position of herrerasaurids, E. lunensis, and G. candelariensis as basal theropods or basal saurischians, and the affinity and/or validity of more fragmentary taxa such as Agnosphitys cromhallensis, Alwalkeria maleriensis, Chindesaurus bryansmalli, Saltopus elginensis, and Spondylosoma absconditum. The identification of dinosaur apomorphies is jeopardized by the incompleteness of skeletal remains attributed to most basal dinosauromorphs, the skulls and forelimbs of which are particularly poorly known. Nonetheless, Dinosauria can be diagnosed by a suite of derived traits, most of which are related to the anatomy of the pelvic girdle and limb. Some of these are connected to the acquisition of a fully erect bipedal gait, which has been traditionally suggested to represent a key adaptation that allowed, or even promoted, dinosaur radiation during Late Triassic times. Yet, contrary to the classical "competitive" models, dinosaurs did not gradually replace other terrestrial tetrapods over the Late Triassic. In fact, the radiation of the group comprises at least three landmark moments, separated by controversial (Carnian-Norian, Triassic-Jurassic) extinction events. These are mainly characterized by early diversification in Carnian times, a Norian increase in diversity and (especially) abundance, and the occupation of new niches from the Early Jurassic onwards. Dinosaurs arose from fully bipedal ancestors, the diet of which may have been carnivorous or omnivorous. Whereas the oldest dinosaurs were geographically restricted to south Pangea, including rare ornithischians and more abundant basal members of the saurischian lineage, the group achieved a nearly global distribution by the latest Triassic, especially with the radiation of saurischian groups such as "prosauropods" and coelophysoids. [source] Tectonic Fractures in Tight Gas Sandstones of the Upper Triassic Xujiahe Formation in the Western Sichuan Basin, ChinaACTA GEOLOGICA SINICA (ENGLISH EDITION), Issue 5 2010ZENG Lianbo Abstract: The western Sichuan Basin, which is located at the front of the Longmen Mountains in the west of Sichuan Province, China, is a foreland basin formed in the Late Triassic. The Upper Triassic Xujiahe Formation is a tight gas sandstone reservoir with low porosity and ultra-low permeability, whose gas accumulation and production are controlled by well-developed fracture zones. There are mainly three types of fractures developed in the Upper Triassic tight gas sandstones, namely tectonic fractures, diagenetic fractures and overpressure-related fractures, of which high-angle tectonic fractures are the most important. The tectonic fractures can be classified into four sets, i.e., N-S-, NE-, E-W- and NW-striking fractures. In addition, there are a number of approximately horizontal shear fractures in some of the medium-grained sandstones and grit stones nearby the thrusts or slip layers. Tectonic fractures were mainly formed at the end of the Triassic, the end of the Cretaceous and the end of the Neogene-Early Pleistocene. The development degree of tectonic fractures was controlled by lithology, thickness, structure, stress and fluid pressure. Overpressure makes not only the rock shear strength decrease, but also the stress state change from compression to tension. Thus, tensional fractures can be formed in fold-thrust belts. Tectonic fractures are mainly developed along the NE- and N-S-striking structural belts, and are the important storage space and the principal flow channels in the tight gas sandstone. The porosity of fractures here is 28.4% of the gross reservoir porosity, and the permeability of fractures being two or three grades higher than that of the matrix pores. Four sets of high-angle tectonic fractures and horizontal shear fractures formed a good network system and controlled the distribution and production of gas in the tight sandstones. [source] First Late Triassic Record of a Paleoentomofauna from South America (Malargüe Basin, Mendoza Province, Argentina)ACTA GEOLOGICA SINICA (ENGLISH EDITION), Issue 4 2010Carsten BRAUCKMANN Abstract: Late Middle Triassic to early Late Triassic insects from Argentina have been previously described from the Bermejo and Cuyana Basins where they have been recovered from the Ischichuca-Los Rastros and Potrerillos-Cacheuta Formations, respectively. The insect fauna discussed herein was collected during field studies in 1986/1987 from the Llantenes section (Norian to Rhaetian? Late Triassic), which is situated in the Malargüe Basin in southern Mendoza province. The insect remains were found in the upper part of the Llantenes section (Llantenes Formation), which is built up of two coarsening-upwards cycles reflecting a deltaic progradation of a fluvial into a lacustrine environment (lower part), succeeded by repeated progradations into a floodplain-dominated environment (upper part; with finds of insects, conchostracans, fish remains, plant fragments, and drifted logs). The new finds represent the youngest Triassic insect records described from Argentina and even from South America in its entirety. There is only one contemporaneous fossil assemblage in Gondwana: in the Clarence/Moreton Basin (Aberdare Conglomerate; Late Norian) in Australia. The new Triassic insects include an impression of an isolated Mecopterida-like wing (Mendozachorista volkheimeri gen. et sp. nov.; Mendozachoristidae fam. nov.), coleopteran elytra of the Permosynidae (Ademosyne rosenfeldi sp. nov. and Ademosyne llantenesensis sp. nov.) and other isolated body fragments. This new Late Triassic entomofauna from Argentina is of considerable importance in the reconstruction of the biotic recovery of continental environments in Gondwana after the catastrophic mass extinction at the P/T boundary. [source] Migration of Depocenters and Accumulation Centers and its Indication of Subsidence Centers in the Mesozoic Ordos BasinACTA GEOLOGICA SINICA (ENGLISH EDITION), Issue 2 2009Junfeng ZHAO Abstract: Based on the integrated study of structure attributions and characteristics of the original basin in combination with lithology and lithofacies, sedimentary provenance analysis and thickness distribution of the Mesozoic Ordos Basin, it is demonstrated that the depocenters migrated counterclockwise from southeast to the north and then to the southwest from the Middle-Late Triassic to the Early Cretaceous. There were no unified and larger-scale accumulation centers except several small isolated accumulation centers before the Early Cretaceous. The reasons why belts of relatively thick strata were well developed in the western basin in several stages are that this area is near the west boundary of the original Ordos Basin, there was abundant sediment supply and the hydrodynamic effect was strong. Therefore, they stand for local accumulation centers. Until the Early Cretaceous, depocenters, accumulation centers and subsidence centers were superposed as an entity in the southwest part of the Ordos Basin. Up to the end of the Middle Jurassic, there still appeared a paleogeographic and paleostructural higher-in-west and lower-in-east framework in the residual basin to the west of the Yellow River. The depocenters of the Ordos Basin from the Middle,Late Triassic to the Middle Jurassic were superposed consistently. The relatively high thermal maturation of Mesozoic and Paleozoic strata in the depocenters and their neighborhood suggest active deep effects in these areas. Generally, superposition of depocenters in several periods and their consistency with high thermal evolution areas reveal the control of subsidence processes. Therefore, depocenters may represent the positions of the subsidence centers. The subsidence centers (or depocenters) are located in the south of the large-scale cratonic Ordos Basin. This is associated with flexural subsidence of the foreland, resulting from the strong convergence and orogenic activity contemporaneous with the Qinling orogeny. [source] Ultrahigh-pressure and Retrograde Metamorphic Ages for Paleozoic Protolith of Paragneiss in the Main Drill Hole of the Chinese Continental Scientific Drilling Project (CCSD-MH), SW Sulu UHP TerraneACTA GEOLOGICA SINICA (ENGLISH EDITION), Issue 3 2006LIU Fulai Abstract, Laser Raman spectroscopy and cathodoluminescence (CL) images show that most zircon crystals separated from paragneiss in the main drill hole of the Chinese Continental Scientific Drilling Project (CCSD-MH) at Maobei, southwestern Sulu terrane, contain low-pressure mineral-bearing detrital cores, coesite-bearing mantles and quartz-bearing or mineral inclusion-free rims. SHRIMP U-Pb dating on these zoned zircons yield three discrete and meaningful age groups. The detrital cores yield a large age span from 659 to 313 Ma, indicating the protolith age for the analyzed paragneiss is Paleozoic rather than Proterozoic. The coesite-bearing mantles yield a weighted mean age of 228 ± 5 Ma for the UHP event. The quartz-bearing outmost rims yield a weighted mean age of 213 ± 6 Ma for the retrogressive event related to the regional amphibolite facies metamorphism in the Sulu UHP terrane. Combined with previous SHRIMP U-Pb dating results from orthogneiss in CCSD-MH, it is suggested that both Neoproterozoic granitic protolith and Paleozoic sedimentary rocks were subducted to mantle depths in the Late Triassic. About 15 million years later, the Sulu UHP metamorphic rocks were exhumed to mid-crustal levels and overprinted by an amphibolite-facies retrogressive metamorphism. The exhumation rate deduced from the SHRIMP data and metamorphic P-T conditions is about 6.7 km/Ma. Such a fast exhumation suggests that the Sulu UHP paragneiss and orthogneiss returned towards the surface as a dominant part of a buoyant sliver, caused as a consequence of slab breakoff. [source] Biosynthesis of ascorbic acid by extant actinopterygiansJOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY, Issue 3 2000R. Moreau Polypterus senegalus, the longnose gar Lepisosteus osseus and the bowfin Amia calva had gulonolactone oxidase activity in the kidney and thus can synthesize ascorbic acid de novo. The enzyme activity was associated with the microsomal fraction. The common carp Cyprinus carpio and the goldfish Carassius auratus had no gulonolactone oxidase activity. Antibodies directed against white sturgeon gulonolactone oxidase showed cross-reactivity with lake sturgeon, bowfin and longnose gar kidney enzymes, but not with enzymes from Polypterus, sea lamprey, and tadpole kidney or pig liver. Given cross-reactivity, gulonolactone oxidase relatedness matched actinopterygian phylogeny, and suggested homology of the character throughout fishes. Modern teleosts may have lost the ability to synthesize ascorbic acid since the late Triassic as a result of a single reversal in the founding population. Wild bowfin and longnose gar exhibited high ascorbate concentrations in liver and spleen when compared with the teleosts rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss and common carp fed vitamin C-supplemented diets. [source] Structural Characteristics and Formation Mechanism in the Micangshan Foreland, South ChinaACTA GEOLOGICA SINICA (ENGLISH EDITION), Issue 1 2009Huaming XU Abstract: Lying at the junction of the Dabashan, Longmenshan and Qinling mountains, the Micangshan Orogenic Belt coupled with a basin is a duplex structure and back-thrust triangular belt with little horizontal displacement, small thrust faults and continuous sedimentary cover. On the basis of 3D seismic data, and through sedimentary and structural research, the Micangshan foreland can be divided into five subbelts, which from north to south are: basement thrust, frontal thrust, foreland depression-back-thrust triangle, foreland fold belt or anticline belt, and the Tongjiang Depression. Along the direction of strike from west to east, the arcuate structural belt of Micangshan can be divided into west, middle and east segments. During the collision between the Qinling and Yangtze plates, the Micangshan Orogenic Belt was subjected to the interaction of three rigid terranes: Bikou, Foping, and Fenghuangshan (a.k.a. Ziyang) terranes. The collision processes of rigid terranes controlled the structural development of the Micangshan foreland, which are: (a) the former collision between the Micangshan-Hannan and Bikou terranes forming the earlier rudiments of the structure; and (b) the later collision forming the main body of the structural belt. The formation processes of the Micangshan Orogenic Belt can be divided into four stages: (1) in the early stage of the Indosinian movement, the Micangshan-Hannan Rigid Terrane was jointed to the Qinling Plate by the clockwise subduction of the Yangtze Plate toward the Qinling Plate; (2) since the late Triassic, the earlier rudiments of the Tongnanba and Jiulongshan anticlines and corresponding syncline were formed by compression from different directions of the Bikou, Foping and Micangshan-Hannan terranes; (3) in the early stage of the Himalayan movement, the Micangshan-Hannan Terrane formed the Micangshan Nappe torwards the foreland basin and the compression stresses were mainly concentrated along both its flanks, whereas the Micangshan-Hannan Terrane wedged into the Qinling Orogenic Belt with force; (4) in the late stage of the Himalayan movement, the main collision of the Qinling Plate made the old basement rocks of the terrane uplift quickly, to form the Micangshan Orogenic Belt. The Micangshan foreland arcuate structure was formed due to the non-homogeneity of terrane movement. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||