Paleozoic radiolarian biostratigraphy

Integrated Radiolaria, benthic foraminifera and conodont biochronology of the pelagic Permian blocks/tectonic slices and geochemistry of associated volcanic rocks from the Mersin Mélange, southern Turkey: Implications for the Permian evolution of the northern Neotethys

“…Global chronostratigraphic units are from Ogg, Ogg, and Gradstein (), West Texas stages (Gradstein, Ogg, Schmitz, & Ogg, ), Chinese stages (Jin, Shang, & Wang, ), and conodont zones are those currently recognized by the International Subcomission on Permian Stratigraphy (Shen et al, ). The composite Peri‐Tethyan zonation, modified from Aitchison et al (), also appears in Figure . Southwest Japan (Mino‐Tamba belt) zonation (A. Yao, Kuwahara, Ezaki, Liu, & Hao, ) is based on Ishiga (, ), with modifications made by Kuwahara et al () and J. Yao, Yao, and Kuwahara ().…”

“…Jasin & Harun, ; Jasin, Said, & Rahman, ) and includes the most up to date chronostratigraphic correlation. In this study, we adopt the zonation presented in Aitchison, Suzuki, Caridroit, Danelian, and Noble () with reference to some zones in southwest Japan (i.e. A. sinuata zone; Figure ) and follow the generic taxonomy of Noble et al ().…”

“…Based on their review of the radiolarian literature and updated calibration to the conodont biostratigraphy, Aitchison et al () consider the age of the P. lomentaria assemblage (minus P. scalprata and P. scalprata m. rhombothoracata ) to be Sakmarian, but they further state that the first appearance of P. scalprata and P. scalprata m. rhombothoracata does not appear to predate the late Artinskian. If the first appearance of P. scalprata m. rhombothoracata is taken to be the most reliable datum then the age of these two zones can be considered to be late Artinskian–middle Kungurian.…”

“…The Parafollicucullus scalprata Zone in A. Yao and Kuwahara () and Shimakawa and Yao () do not contain independant biostratigraphic control from the Migong section in Qinzhou but instead adopt the age assignments from the zonation established in southwest Japan. Ishiga's zonation was calibrated with fusulinaceans and conodonts, although age revisions to his assignments have been discussed in many papers (see Aitchison et al, ). The best age calibration from conodonts appears in N. Zhang et al () for the top of the A. foremanae zone, which ends at the Kungurian–Roadian boundary, at the base of the J. nankingensis gracilis conodont zone, and supports an age of a middle Kungurian time interval for our material (Figure ).…”

“…Radiolarian zonations for the Late Permian were initially established in southwest Japan (Ishiga, , ; Kuwahara, Yao, & An, ; Kuwahara et al, ) and South China (Kuwahara et al, ; Y. J. Wang et al, ), and refinements have continued through calibration with conodont biostratigraphy (Nishikane, Kaiho, Henderson, Takahashi, & Suzuki, ; Nishikane et al, ; D. Sun & Xia, ; Xia et al, , ; J. Yao et al, ). A summary of these zones and their age control is found in Aitchison et al () and is adopted herein. Radiolarian assemblages belonging to the following radiolarian zones of early Wuchiapingian to middle Changhsingian age are encountered in this study (Figure ).…”