UNESC
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Creta AsiaceousPacific
Ecosy
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CPUIGSThe Fourth International Symposium ofInternational Geoscience Programme
IGCP Project 608

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to
Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia andthe Western Pacific

Short Papers

Novosibirsk
2016

Russian Academy of Science
Siberian Branch
Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to
Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia andthe Western Pacific
Short papers for the Fourth International Symposium ofInternational Geoscience Programme
IGCP Project 608
August 15–20, 2016
Novosibirsk, Russia

Edited by O.S. Dzyuba, E.B. Pestchevitskaya and B.N. Shurygin

Novosibirsk
IPGG SB RAS
2016УДК 551.763+551.863
ББК 26.323
М47

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia andthe Western Pacific: Short papers for the Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608,
Novosibirsk, August 15–20, 2016 / Dzyuba, O.S., Pestchevitskaya, E.B., and Shurygin, B.N., Eds. –Novosibirsk, IPGG SB RAS, 2016. – 134 p.
The book contains materials of the reports submitted to the Fourth International
Symposium of International Geoscience Programme (IGCP) Project 608. Theoretical, methodical
and practical questions of Cretaceous paleogeography, paleontological characteristics andstratigraphy of different regions of Asia and the Western Pacific are discussed. The significant
attention is given to the Cretaceous climate and environmental changes, biogeography,
biodiversity of terrestrial and marine ecosystems, and vertebrates of Asia and Western Pacific.
This book will be of interest to a wide range of geoscientists who study the Cretaceous
Period.

The organization and carrying out of the Symposium are supported by the UNESCO-IUGS-IGCP
Committee (IGCP Project 608) and the Russian Foundation for Basic Researches(RFBR Project 16-05-20508).

Cover illustration: Psittacosaurus sibiricus. Painting by Andrey A. AtuchinISBN 978-5-4262-0073-9© IPGG SB RAS, 2016
© The authors, 2016

EXECUTIVES AND ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
IGCP 608 Project LeadersProf. Hisao Ando (Leader)Department of Earth Sciences, Ibaraki University, Japan
Prof. Xiaoqiao Wan (Co-Leader)
School of Geosciences and Resources, China University of Geosciences, China
Prof. Daekyo, Cheong (Co-Leader)Department of Geology, College of Natural Sciences, Kangwon National University, Korea
Prof. Sunil Bajpai (Co-Leader)
Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany, Lucknow, India
Regional Coordinators
Prof. Guobiao Li
Department of Geosciences and Sources, China University of Geosciences, China
Prof. Guntupalli V. R. Prasad
Department of Geology, University of Delhi, India
Dr. Djadajang Sukarna
New & Renewable Energy Conservation, Ministry of Energy and Minerals, Indonesia
Prof. Takashi Hasegawa
Department of Earth Science, Kawazawa University, Japan
Prof. In Sung Paik
Department of Environmental Geosciences, Pukyong National University, Korea
Dr. Niiden Ichinnorov
Paleontology Centre, Mongolian Academy of Sciences, Mongolia
Mr. M. Sadig Malkani
Paleontology & Stratigraphy branch, Geological Survey of Pakistan, Pakistan
Dr. Carla Dimalanta
National Institute of Geological Sciences, University of Philippines, Philippines
Dr. Galina L. Kirillova
Institute of Tectonics and Geophysics FEB RAS, Russia
Prof. Boris N. Shurygin
Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics SB RAS, Russia
Mr. Naramase Teerarungsigul
Department of Mineral Resources, Thailand
Prof. Nguyen Xuan Khien
Vietnam Institute of Geosciences and Mineral Resources, Vietnam

Organizing Committee of the Fourth International Symposium of IGCP608
RAS Academician, Prof. Alexey E. Kontorovich (Honorary Chairman)
Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics SB RAS, Novosibirsk State University
RAS Corresponding Member Vladimir I. Klishin (Honorary Chairman)
Coal Institute of the Federal Coal and Coal Chemistry Research Center SB RASRAS Corresponding Member, Prof. Valeriy A. Vernikovsky (Honorary Chairman)
Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics SB RAS, Novosibirsk State University
RAS Corresponding Member, Prof. Boris N. Shurygin (Co-chairman)
Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics SB RAS, Novosibirsk State University
Dr. Galina L. Kirillova (Co-chairman)
Kosygin Institute of Tectonics and Geophysics FEB RAS
Dr. Oksana S. Dzyuba (Vice-chairman)
Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics SB RAS
Dr. Natalya K. Lebedeva (Vice-chairman)
Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics SB RAS, Novosibirsk State University
Dr. Ekaterina B. Pestchevitskaya (Vice-chairman)
Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics SB RAS
Olga A. Feofanova (Vice-chairman)
Director of the SCI “Kemerovo Regional Museum of Local Lore”
Igor N. Kosenko (Symposium Secretary)
Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics SB RAS, Novosibirsk State University
Dr. Alexandr S. Alifirov, IPGG SB RAS, NSU
Dr. Alexander L. Beisel, IPGG SB RAS
Dr. Larisa A. Glinskikh, IPGG SB RAS
Dr. Anna A. Goryacheva, IPGG SB RAS
Dr. Irina V. Khazina, IPGG SB RAS
Dr. Olga B. Kuzmina, IPGG SB RAS
Dr. Boris L. Nikitenko, IPGG SB RAS
Dr. Petr A. Yan, IPGG SB RAS
Clémentine Colpaert, NSU
Natalya V. Demidenko, SCI “Kemerovo Regional Museum of Local Lore”
Alexander E. Igolnikov, IPGG SB RAS, NSU
Svetlana N. Khafaeva, IPGG SB RAS
Anna N. Trubicyna, IPGG SB RAS
Olga S. Urman, IPGG SB RAS
Co-Organizing Agency
Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics SB RAS
Novosibirsk State University
State Cultural Institution “Kemerovo Regional Museum of Local Lore”
Coal Institute of the Federal Coal and Coal Chemistry Research Center SB RAS
Cretaceous Commission of the Interdepartmental Stratigraphic Committee of Russia
Russian National Committee for International Geoscience ProgrammeSponsors
UNESCO-IUGS-IGCP (IGCP Project 608)
Russian Foundation for Basic Researches (RFBR Project 16-05-20508)
INPEX Corporation Co., Ltd. (Japan)
Japan Petroleum Exploration Co., Ltd. (Japan)
JX Nippon Oil and Energy Corporation Co., Ltd. (Japan)
Mitsui Oil Exploration Co., Ltd. (Japan)
Mitsubishi Corporation Exploration Co., Ltd. (Japan)
Oyo Corporation Co., Ltd. (Japan)
DIA Consultants Co., Ltd. (Japan)
Chuo Kaihatsu Co., Ltd. (Japan)

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western PacificContents

Preface ......................................................................................................................................................................... 9
Zakharov, V.A., and Shurygin, B.N.
Vladimir N. Saks: geologist and paleontologist, and the founding father of the Mesozoic
paleontology and stratigraphy Research Group in Novosibirsk Academy Town
(to the 105th anniversary of the birth of V.N. Saks) ......................................................................................... 10

Session 1: Biodiversity of terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Cretaceous fauna andflora of Asia and the Western PacificAfonin, M.A.
Fossil woods from the Bykov Formation (Late Cenomanian–Early Campanian) of Sakhalin
Island, Russian Far East ......................................................................................................................................... 13
Bugdaeva, E.V., and Markevich, V.S.
The change of the Early Cretaceous ecosystems of Gusinoozerskiy Basin (the Buryat Republic) .......... 16
Golovneva, L.B., and Alekseev, P.I.
Taxonomy and morphological diversity of infructescences co-occurred with Trochodendroides
leaves ......................................................................................................................................................................... 19
Herman, A.B., and Spicer, R.A.
The composition and dynamics of the Late Cretaceous and Paleocene Arctic plant communities ......... 22
Kosenko, I.N.
Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous oysters (Bivalvia, Ostreoidea) from Siberia: Taxonomy,
palaeoecology, distribution and variations of carbon and oxygen isotopes ................................................ 24
Makarkin, V.N.
The neuropteran assemblage (Insecta) of the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amberconfirms transitional character of its biota ......................................................................................................... 27
Markevich, V.S., Bugdaeva, E.V., Kovaleva, T.A., Volynets, E.B., and Afonin, M.A.
The mid-Cretaceous swamp plant communities of northeastern Asia ......................................................... 30
Smokotina, I.V.
Upper Cretaceous palynology (spores, pollen and dinoflagellate cysts) of the Yakovlevskaya-2
borehole, Ust-Yenisei region ................................................................................................................................. 33
Sun, B.N., Xu, X.H., Yan, D.F., and Jin, P.H.
Conifer fossils from the Lower Cretaceous of Inner Mongolia, North China and their geologic
significance............................................................................................................................................................... 37
Volynets, E.B., Bugdaeva, E.V., Markevich, V.S., and Kovaleva, T.A.
First flowering plants in Primorye region (Russia) .......................................................................................... 39
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The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016

Session 2: Cretaceous paleogeography and paleobiogeography
Bajpai, S.
Late Cretaceous paleobiogeography of peninsular India: An overview of constraints from fossil
tetrapods .................................................................................................................................................................... 42
Jafar, S.A.
Terminal Maastrichtian–Danian marine incursion in Central India: Myth or Reality? ............................. 43
Li, G.B., Han, Z.C., Li, X.F., Niu, X.L., Wang, T.Y., Han, Y., Yao, Y.J., Lv, B.B., and Zhang, W.Y.
The discovery of the CORB in the Southern Tethyan Himalaya and its paleogeographic
implication ................................................................................................................................................................ 46
Sha, J.G., and Cestari, R.
Palaeobiogeographic implications of the Late Aptian–Albian polyconitid rudist fauna .......................... 48

Session 3: Cretaceous climate and environmental changes
Kirillova, G.L., and Medvedeva, S.A.
Cretaceous paleoenvironments of the Russian Southeast ............................................................................... 51
Lebedeva, N.K.
Palynomorphs and biofacies in the Upper Cretaceous sediments of northern Siberia .............................. 55
Malkani, M.S.
Pakistan paleoclimate under greenhouse conditions; Closure of Tethys from Pakistan;
Geobiological evolution of South Asia (Indo-Pak subcontinent) .................................................................. 59
Mohabey, D.M., and Samant, B.
Assessing effects of Deccan volcanism on biota and environments of non-marine Maastrichtian–Palaeogene sediments of Central India ............................................................................................................... 62
Pestchevitskaya, E.B.
Environmental changes in Early Cretaceous palaeobasin of Western Siberia based on marine andterrestrial palynomorphs ........................................................................................................................................ 64
Pestchevitskaya, E.B., Nikolenko, O.D., Vakulenko, L.G., Ershov, S.V., and Yan, P.A.
Palaeoenvironmental changes in the Early Cretaceous of Gydan region (NW Siberia)............................. 67
Samant, B., Yadav, D., and Mohabey, D.M.
Palynological study of intertrappean sediments in the central and eastern parts of Deccan
volcanic province of India to understand age and depositional environment ............................................ 70
Uranbileg, L., Ichinnorov, N., and Eviikhuu, A.
The Cretaceous flora of Mongolia and its paleoenvironment ......................................................................... 72
Zorina, S.O., and Pavlova, O.V.
Discontinuous euxinia during the early Aptian oceanic anoxic event (OAE 1a): A case study fromthe Russian Platform ............................................................................................................................................... 74
6

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western PacificSession 4: Cretaceous stratigraphy and sedimentology
Ando, H., Hasegawa, H., Ichinnorov, N., Hasebe, N., Ohta, T., Hasegawa, T., Yamamoto, M.,
Li, G.B., Erdenetsogt, B., and Heimhofer, U.
Chronostratigraphy of the Jurassic–Cretaceous lacustrine deposits in southeast Mongolia:
Brief results of Japan-Mongolia Joint research project .................................................................................... 77
Beisel, A.L.
Supersequenses in the Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous of Western Siberia .................................... 79
Dzyuba, O.S., and Shurygin, B.N.
The Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary in the Asian part of Russia ..................................................................... 82
Ichinnorov, N., Hofmann, Ch.-Ch., Hasegawa, H., and Uranbileg, L.
Lower Cretaceous formations and palynology of the Matad area (Tamsag Basin), southeastern
Mongolia ................................................................................................................................................................... 86
Igolnikov, A.E., Rogov, M.A., and Alifirov, A.S.
Ryazanian (Boreal Berriasian) ammonite succession of the Nordvik section (Russian Arctic):
Revision and new data ........................................................................................................................................... 89
Li, G.B.
The closing age of Himalayan Tethys: New evidence from planktic foraminifera .................................... 93
Malkani, M.S.
Revised stratigraphy of Indus Basin (Pakistan): Sea level changes .............................................................. 96
Teerarungsigul, N.
Stratigraphy of Jurassic–Cretaceous rocks of Thung Yai–Khlong Thom area,
peninsular Thailand ............................................................................................................................................. 100
Thakre, D., Samant, B., and Mohabey, D.M.
Palynology and magnetostratigraphy of Deccan volcanic associated sedimentary sequence ofAmarkantak Group in Central India: Age and paleoenvironment.............................................................. 101
Urman, O.S., Dzyuba, O.S., Shurygin, B.N., and Kirillova, G.L.
Bio- and lithostratigraphy of the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary deposits in the Komsomolsk
section (Russian Far East) .................................................................................................................................... 103
Zlobina, O.N.
Environments of conservation of the dinosaurs in the Mesozoic deposits of south-easternWest Siberia (Shestakovskii Yar section) ......................................................................................................... 106

Session 5: Cretaceous vertebrates of Asia and the Western PacificAmiot, R., Lazzerini, N., Lécuyer, Ch., and Fourel, F.
Stable isotope composition of modern and fossil archosaur eggshells as a tracer of animal
ecology, living environment and reproductive strategy ................................................................................ 109
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The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016

Bhadran, A.
Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) vertebrate fossils from inland basins of Indian peninsula – theirpalaeogeographic significance ............................................................................................................................ 111
Demidenko, N.V., and Maschenko, E.N.
Results of paleontological excavations 2014–2015 held by the Kemerovo Regional Museum atthe Early Cretaceous Shestakovo vertebrate localities.................................................................................... 114
Feofanova, O.A.
Historical stages of natural science collection formation in the Kemerovo Regional Museum ............. 117
Hirayama, R., Takisawa, T., Sasaki, K., Sonoda, T., Yoshida, M., Takekawa, A., Mitsuzuka, Sh.,
Kobayashi, Y., Tsuihiji, T., Matsumoto, R., Kurosu, M., Takakuwa, Y., Miyata, S., and Tsutsumi, Y.
Fossil vertebrates from the Late Cretaceous Tamagawa Formation (Turonian) of Kuji City,
Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan ................................................................................................................. 120
Ivantsov, S.V., Fayngerts, A.V., Leshchinskiy, S.V., Rezviy, A.S., Skutschas, P.P., and Averianov, A.O.
The Lower Cretaceous continental vertebrate fauna from the Shestakovo locality (West Siberia):
Results of 20-year research ................................................................................................................................... 121
Kostyunin, A.E.
The history of discovery and research of the Shestakovo locality of Early Cretaceous vertebrates ...... 124
Kusuhashi, N., Wang, Y.-Q., and Li, C.-K.
Reinvestigation of an Early Cretaceous eutherian mammal Endotherium niinomii.................................. 127
Malkani, M.S.
Vitakri Dome of Pakistan – a richest graveyard of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaurs andmesoeucrocodiles in Asia ..................................................................................................................................... 129
Sonkusare, H., Samant, B., and Mohabey, D.M.
Lithostratigraphy and biota of the Late Cretaceous dinosaur bearing Lameta and Intertrappean
sediments along Salbardi fault in Betul and Amravati districts of Central India ..................................... 133
Summart, O.-U., Wongko, K., and Chantasit, Ph.
Early Cretaceous fossil sites in Kalasin Province, Thailand .......................................................................... 134

8

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western PacificPreface

The mechanisms underlying the evolution of the Asia-Pacific Cretaceous ecosystems are far
from being fully understood. The IGCP608 project lead by Prof. Hisao Ando (Ibaraki University, Japan) is aimed to reconstruct the Cretaceous ecosystems and the history of their responses
to paleoenvironmental changes in Asia and the Western Pacific.
The 4th International Symposium of the IGCP608 is a follow-up of very successful previous
meetings in Lucknow (India), Tokyo (Japan) and Shenyang (China). The Trofimuk Institute ofPetroleum Geology and Geophysics of Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences in Novosibirsk (Russia) was elected as a host for international meeting of the project workers in 2016.
IGCP608 symposiums became an effective platform for participants to share their views on
the paleoenvironmental changes impacts both on terrestrial and marine ecosystems. The scientific programme of the 4th International Symposium of the IGCP608 in Novosibirsk covers awide range of topics including paleoclimate, paleogeography, paleontology, stratigraphy, tectonics, and petroleum geology. This symposium is an opportunity for discussion of the latest
advances in studies of Asia-Pacific Cretaceous ecosystems. In addition to scientific sessions, thepost-symposium field excursion will be organized in Kemerovo Oblast to examine the nonmarine Cretaceous deposits yielding dinosaurs and other vertebrates.
The Symposium is dedicated to the 105th anniversary of the birth of Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Professor Vladimir N. Saks (1911–1979), Soviet geologist
and paleontologist, and the founding father of the Mesozoic paleontology and stratigraphy Research Group in Novosibirsk Academy Town.
This special issue is a contribution to UNESCO IUGS International Geoscience Programme(IGCP project 608).
We express our sincere thanks to all of the authors who contributed to this issue.

IGCP608 Project Leaders
Organizing Committee of the Fourth International Symposium of IGCP608

9

The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016

Vladimir N. Saks: geologist and paleontologist, and the founding father ofthe Mesozoic paleontology and stratigraphy Research Groupin Novosibirsk Academy Town
(to the 105th anniversary of the birth of V.N. Saks)
V.A. Zakharov1 and B.N. Shurygin2,3
1Geological Institute of the RAS, Pyzhevskii per. 7, Moscow 119017, Russia; e-mail: mzarctic@gmail.com
2Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics, Siberian Branch of RAS, Acad. Koptyug av. 3, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia;

e-mail: shuryginbn@ipgg.sbras.ru
3Novosibirsk State University, Pirogova str. 2, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia

Vladimir Nikolaevich Saks, the founder andthe first head of the Laboratory of the Mesozoic
and Cenozoic Paleontology and Stratigraphy(Institute of Geology and Geophysics SB AS
USSR, currently – Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics SB RAS) would
have turned 105 years old on April 22, 2016.
The school of scientific thought initiated by
Vladimir Saks is justifiably considered the greatest and the most important achievement of his
scientific career and, ultimately, his whole life. A
school of thought implies a community of scientists like-minded spiritually connected, unitedby common goals and objectives, as long as thestaple idea of the school founder is handed on
and developed further by generations of researchers. V.N. Saks was the mastermind andinspiration in such teams organized by him firstin Leningrad and later in Novosibirsk.
He always had his hand in planning the research activities on stratigraphy and assisted inorganizing the work of interdepartmentalgroups for creating the regional stratigraphic
schemes for the Mesozoic–Cenozoic deposits of
the Boreal type. He would act as a chief scientificarbiter for all regional stratigraphic schemes, regarded as an integrated part of the geological information on most of Siberian regions. Back inthe 1960s–70s, the Regional Stratigraphic meetings on approval of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic
charts with regional columns were held under
his scientific leadership in the cities of Novosibirsk, Tyumen, Magadan, Khabarovsk, Vladivostok, including those for the European platform and the Urals.
As an Earth scientist, Vladimir Saks really
had two careers and was equally known as a geologist and geographer. His expertise and research results and findings in these two relatively remote areas of geological knowledge –10

Quaternary and Mesozoic geology – havegained recognition among the experts in Russia
and many countries of the Northern Hemisphere. The intact by time persistent interest in
his works is largely attributed to the profoundknowledge, deep intuition and wisdom this remarkable geologist and paleontologist.
Vladimir Saks was known for an amazing
diversity of his scientific interests, but his primary academic and professional interest was given
to stratigraphy. The key idea governing the development of the detailed Mesozoic stratigraphyof Siberia was V.N. Saks’ pioneering conjecturethat the succession of Jurassic stages traditionally assigned to the West European, including
British stratigraphic columns is equally applicable to Siberia (Saks, 1962). It was revealed that in
the Mesozoic, the Arctic marine fauna was essentially poorer versus faunas from the paleobasins situated further south. However, in stratigraphic columns of Western Europe and Siberia
a whole series of common genera and species,
primarily ammonoids, was established, which
form the basis for subdivisions of all Mesozoic
systems.
When suggesting the possibility of using of
the International Stratigraphic Chart for Siberia,
it was highlighted that the stages were to be
filled with zones from Siberian sections, giventhat the differences between Siberian and European faunas in certain stratigraphic levels
proved fairly essential. That was why Vladimir
Saks believed that comparison of the Western
Siberian ammonite scale should be based not only on the groups of master stratigraphic columns, but rather defined by homotaxis (similar
positions within similar stratigraphic sequences). This approach bridges the major gaps in determinations of geological ages of rocks.

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western Pacific

The most outstanding achievement madeby Vladimir Saks, his students and fellows in the
study of the Mesozoic of the Arctic region was
the zonal stratigraphic scale, comprising 140
ammonite zones (Saks et al., 1980). In Western
Europe, it took 125 years to develop the Jurassic
and Cretaceous zonal scale, while modern parallel zonal scales for the Siberian Jurassic werecompleted within a 20 years’ time span (Zakharov et al., 1997; Shurygin et al., 2000). All the
Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous zones established in Siberia are widely traceable – in Northof USA, Canada, the Arctic Islands.
During V.N. Saks’ scientific career, apartfrom dealing primarily with the ammonitebased stratigraphy, he was involved in the pioneering attempts of developing biostratigraphic
scale for other groups of invertebrates – the belemnites, bivalves, brachiopods, etc. Already after his passing away, this work was successfullycompleted by his disciples. At present, the Mesozoic biostratigraphy of Siberia has at its disposal a series of intercorrelated scales based on different groups of fossils.
The second in order but not minor in significance, direction of his scientific activity was concerned with paleobiogeography of the Panboreal
Superrealm, which was geographically equaled
with Boreal climatic Belt by V.N. Saks. Analysisof the area extent of several groups of Jurassic
and Early Cretaceous marine organisms – ammonites, belemnites, bivalves, brachiopods, foraminifers – resulted in the division of area occupied by this superrealm beyond 50°N into three
paleobiogeographic realms: Boreal-Atlantic, Arctic, and Boreal Pacific, with the provinces allocated by the area extent of specific taxa in each ofthem (Saks et al., 1971). The proposed division
has thus far existed in the literature.
V.N. Saks in collaboration with I.S. Gramberg
and Z.Z. Ronkina offered one of the first paleogeographic reconstructions for the Mesozoic of
the Soviet Arctic (Saks and Ronkina, 1958; Sakset al., 1959; Saks, 1961). During the ‘Siberian period’ of V.N. Saks’ life, a significant part of his
work was dedicated to the research into theMesozoic Arctic paleogeography. His theory on
the integrity of the Arctic paleobasin and on its
evolution associated with plate tectonics during
the Mesozoic got further development in Russia
and abroad.

Vladimir N. Saks
In his study of past climates, V.N. Saks proceeded from the best studied later periods (likePleistocene) to earlier (Jurassic and Cretaceous).
It was on his initiative and with his immediate
participation that hundreds of definitions of
paleotemperatures were obtained for the Arctic
territory based on the oxygen isotopic data andthe Ca/Mg ratios from belemnite rostra. A
wealth of scientific evidence was obtained stating that during the Mesozoic Era (about 70–
200 Ma BP) the Arctic climate was moderately
warm, however subjected to significant changes
over the time. The mean annual surface watertemperatures ranged from 11 to 24°C, and theArctic water temperatures were gradually decreased during the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous.
During his research into geological historyof the Arctic region in the Mesozoic, Vladimir
Saks’ interests often extended beyond the scopeof terrestrial geology. This is heavily evidenced
by the paleogeographic and tectonic reconstructions of the Arctic Ocean and the surrounding
polar seas, built for individual time intervals of
the Mesozoic (e.g., Saks, 1958, 1960, 2007).
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The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016

In the late forties–early fifties of the last century, when the nation was facing the need forsearches of hydrocarbons in Siberia, V.N. Saks
took an active part in the work of the
Glavsevmorput Mining and Geological Bureau
in Ust-Yenisei region. The results were summarized in a monograph describing the Mesozoic
strata of the Ust-Yenisei and Khatanga basins innorthern Siberia (Saks and Ronkina, 1957; Sakset al., 1959). For many years ahead, the books
were extremely helpful to petroleum geologists
in the exploration and development of hydro-

carbon resources of Western Siberia. Relaying on
his research in Ust-Yenisei region and on general understanding of the geology of Western
Siberia, V.N. Saks expressed his firm belief that
Jurassic and Cretaceous deposits of this area areto be highly prospective for hydrocarbons.
Vladimir Saks belonged to the generation ofenthusiastic geologists whole-heartedly devoted
to their chosen profession. His whole career wasdedicated to the study and development of mineral resource base of the Soviet Arctic and to establishing the academic science in Siberia.

References
Saks, V.N., 1958. Stratigraphy of Jurassic and Cretaceous deposits of the middle sector of Soviet Arctic, in: Petroleum potential of the North of Siberia. Gostoptekhizdat, Leningrad, pp. 44–60 (inRussian).
Saks, V.N., 1960. Geological history of the Arctic
Ocean during the Mesozoic Era, in: Regional
Paleogeography. Gosgeoltekhizdat, Moscow,
pp. 108–124 (in Russian).
Saks, V.N., 1961. Paleogeography of the Arctic in theJurassic and Cretaceous periods, in: Papers at
yearlyreadings
incommemoration
of
V.A. Obruchev. Izd-vo AN SSSR, MoscowLeningrad, pp. 20–68 (in Russian).
Saks, V.N., 1962. On possibility of application of general stratigraphic scale for structural zoning ofJurassic deposits of Siberia. Geol. Geofiz. 5, 62–75(in Russian).
Saks, V.N., 2007. Selected works. GEO, Novosibirsk(Vol. 1, 641 p.; Vol. 2, 339 p.).
Saks, V.N., Ronkina, Z.Z., 1957. Jurassic and Cretaceous deposits of the Ust’-Yenisei depression.
Gosgeolizdat, Moscow (in Russian).
Saks, V.N., Ronkina, Z.Z., 1958. Paleogeography of
the Khatanga depression and the adjacent areas
throughout the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.
Collection of articles on the Arctic geology 85(9),70–89 (in Russian).

12

Saks, V.N., Gramberg, I.S., Ronkina, Z.Z., Aplonova,
E.N., 1959. Mesozoic deposits of the Khatanga
depression. Gostoptekhizdat, Leningrad (in Russian).
Saks, V.N., Basov, V.A., Dagis, A.A., Dagis, A.S.,
Zakharov, V.A., Ivanova, E.F., Meledina, S.V.,
Mesezhnikov, M.S., Nalnyaeva, T.I., Shulgina,
N.I., 1971. Paleogeography of the seas of Boreal
Belt in the Jurassic and Neocomian, in: Problems
of general and regional geology. Nauka, Novosibirsk (in Russian).
Saks, V.N., Zakharov, V.A., Meledina, S.V., Mesezhnikov, M.S., Nalnyaeva, T.I., Shulgina, N.I.,
Shurygin, B.N., 1980. Recent understanding of
the development of flora and fauna and zonal
stratigraphy of the Jurassic and Neocomian of
the Boreal Belt. Geol. Geofiz. 1, 9–25 (in Russian).
Shurygin, B.N., Nikitenko, B.L., Devyatov, V.P., Il'ina,
V.I., Meledina, S.V., Gaideburova, E.A., Dzyuba,
O.S., Kazakov, A.M., Mogucheva, N.K., 2000.
Stratigraphy of oil and gas basins of Siberia: The
Jurassic System. Geo, Novosibirsk (in Russianwith English summary).
Zakharov, V.A., Bogomolov, Yu.I., Il'ina, V.I., Konstantinov, A.G., Kurushin, N.I., Lebedeva, N.K.,
Meledina, S.V., Nikitenko, B.L., Sobolev, E.S.,
Shurygin, B.N., 1997. Boreal zonal standard andbiostratigraphy of the Siberian Mesozoic. Russ.
Geol. Geophys. 38, 965–993.

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western PacificSession 1
Biodiversity of terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Cretaceous fauna andflora of Asia and the Western PacificFossil woods from the Bykov Formation (Late Cenomanian–Early Campanian) of
Sakhalin Island, Russian Far East
M.A. Afonin
Institute of Biology and Soil Science, Far Eastern Branch of RAS, pr. 100-letiya 159, Vladivostok 690022, Russia; e-mail: afmaxim@inbox.ru

Fossil woods are common in the Upper Cretaceous deposits of Sakhalin, Russian Far East.
Numerous fossil wood remains were previously
described from the Upper Cretaceous of Sakhalin (Ay, Nayba and Susuya River basins) by Japanese palaeobotanists M. Shimakura (1937),
H. Nishida and M. Nishida (Nishida, H. andNishida, M., 1986; Nishida, M. and Nishida, H.,
1986, 1995). They reported 15 coniferous fossil
wood taxa (Araucarioxylon, Brachyoxylon, Cedroxylon, Cupressinoxylon, Palaeopiceoxylon, Phyllocladoxylon, Piceoxylon, Pinoxylon, Pinuxylon, Pro-

tocupressinoxylon, Planoxylon, Podocarpoxylon,
Taxaceoxylon, Taxodioxylon, and Xenoxylon) and
one dicotyledonous fossil wood taxon (Aptiana).
We described coniferous (Sequoioxylon sp.)and dicotyledonous (Paraphyllanthoxylon sp.)fossil wood taxa, all new to the Late Cretaceous
fossil wood record of Sakhalin, from the Cenomanian–Campanian of Nayba River, Southern
Sakhalin (Fig. 1). The fossil woods studied werecollected by workers of the Far Eastern Geological Institute FEB RAS (Vladivostok) on theright bank of the Nayba River, in the marine

Fig. 1. Map showing fossil wood collection siteof Sakhalin Island.
13

The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 201614

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western Pacificterrigenous deposits of the Bykov Formation.
The age of the Bykov Formation is Late Cenomanian–Early Campanian, based on diagnostic
marine fossils (Zakharov et al., 1981; Poyarkova,
1987). According to Yu.D. Zakharov et al. (1981),
these deposits contain ammonoinds, bivalves,
gastropods, scaphopods and plant remains (including fossil woods). A detailed overview ofthe marine fossils from the Bykov Formation in
the Nayba River Basin is given in the abovementioned paper. The fossil woods studied are
hard, permineralized, grey to almost black, andthey represent the remains of trunks or large
branches. They were studied using the conventional petrographic technique for preparing thinsections of permineralized wood.
Sequoioxylon sp. (fossil wood samples no.
IBSS 37/3, 37/6, 37/7, 37/8, 37/9, 37/10) is characterized by the presence of distinct growth rings,
uniseriate, biseriate, triseriate, and sometimes
tetraseriate pits on the radial walls of tracheids,
crassulae between multiseriate pits on the radial
walls of tracheids, uniseriate pits on the tangential walls of tracheids, abundant diffuse axial parenchyma with smooth transverse end walls ofcells, uniseriate rays (1–60 cells high) with longbiseriate parts, marginal ray tracheids, taxodioidcross-field pits and traumatic vertical resin canals (Fig. 2A–J).
Paraphyllanthoxylon sp. (fossil wood sample
no. IBSS 37/12) has diffuse-porous wood, distinct growth rings, tyloses in vessels, simple perforation plates, alternate intervessel pits, distinct
circular vessel-ray pits, fiber-tracheids withsmall, circular, bordered pits, apotracheal axial
parenchyma, heterocellular rays width 1 to 5
cells, rarely uniseriate rays, ray cells with prismatic crystals (Fig. 2K–T).
It should be noted that Sequoioxylon fossil
wood was described from the Cretaceous of Sakhalin for the first time. The record of Paraphyllanthoxylon represents the first from Russia. Therefore, the investigation of theCretaceous woods of Sakhalin will improve ourunderstanding of the vegetation history during
the Cretaceous in Northern Asia.
The research was supported by the Grants
Council (under the President of the Russian Federation) for state aid of Russian young scientists (project
no. MK-2993.2015.4).

References
Nishida, H., Nishida, M., 1986. Petrified plants fromthe Upper Cretaceous of Saghalien (2). Bot. Mag.
Tokyo 99, 205–212.
Nishida, M., Nishida, H., 1986. Petrified plants fromthe Upper Cretaceous of Saghalien (1). Bot. Mag.
Tokyo 99, 191–204.
Nishida, M., Nishida, H., 1995. Pinoid woods withresin canals from the Upper Cretaceous of Hokkaido and Saghalien. J. Plant Res. 108, 161–170.
Poyarkova, Z.N. (Ed.), 1987. Reference section of theCretaceous deposits in Sakhalin (Nayba section).
Nauka Publishing House, Leningrad (in Russian).

Shimakura, M., 1937. Studies on fossil woods fromJapan and adjacent lands (2). Sci. Rep. Tohoku
Imp. Univ. Sendai. Ser. 2 (Geology) 19(1), 1–73.
Zakharov, Yu.D., Grabovskaya, V.S., Kalishevich,T.G., 1981. Succession of marine invertebrates
from the Nayba and Bykov formations of the reference Upper Cretaceous section in Sakhalin, in:Naydin, D.P., Krassilov, V.A. (Eds.), Organic
evolution and biostratigraphy in the middle of
the Cretaceous period. Vladivostok, pp. 47–85 (inRussian).

Fig. 2. (A–J) Photomicrographs of Sequoioxylon sp. (sample no. IBSS 37/6). (A–C) Transverse sections showing distinct
growth rings, transition from the early wood to the late wood, and traumatic vertical resin canals. (D–F) Radial sections showing one, two and three rows of radial tracheid bordered pits. (G) Tangential section showing uniseriate raywith biseriate part. (H) Tangential section showing uniseriate rays and smooth transverse end walls of axial parenchyma cells. (I, J) Radial sections showing taxodioid cross-field pits and smooth horizontal and end walls of ray cells.
(K–T) Photomicrographs of Paraphyllanthoxylon sp. (sample no. IBSS 37/12). (K) Transverse section showing diffuseporous wood. (L) Radial section showing simple perforation plate. (M, N) Radial sections showing alternate intervessel pits. (O) Tangential section showing rays width 1 to 3 cells. (P–R) Radial sections showing ray cells with prismatic
crystals. (S, T) Radial sections showing vessel-ray pits.
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The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016

The change of the Early Cretaceous ecosystems of Gusinoozerskiy Basin(the Buryat Republic)
E.V. Bugdaeva and V.S. MarkevichInstitute of Biology and Soil Science, Far Eastern Branch of RAS, pr. 100-letiya 159, Vladivostok 690022, Russia; e-mail: bugdaeva@biosoil.ru

The Gusinoozerskiy Basin contains the sedimentarystrataunitedinto
theGusinoozyorskaya Group, which is divided into
the Murtoy, Ubukun, Selenga and Kholboldzhin
formations (Skoblo et al., 2001). They overlay
with stratigraphic unconformity the Upper Jurassic and older volcanic rocks. The Murtoy
Formation consists mainly of conglomerates andsandstones with remains of fossil vertebrates(theropods, sauropods, ornithopods, and ceratopsians), as well as the abundant remains oflimnetic fauna (Skoblo et al., 2001; Nessov andStarkov, 1992; Averianov and Skutschas, 2009).
Its thickness is 250–450 m.
In the Murtoy Formation, the numerous
remains of conifers Pityophyllum ex gr. nordenskioldii (Heer) Nath. and Pityocladus sp. were
found at the Atsay locality. The strobiles Scarburgia hillii Harris are common in the burial withthem. The horsetail stems, scale-leaved shoots
Cyparissidium gracile Heer and strobiles of conifers are rare. According to V.A. Vachrameev(1964), the flora of this formation also includes
Coniopteris onychioides Vassil. et K.-M., Cladophlebis aff. tongusorum Pryn., Sphenopteris (Ruffordia)
cf. goeppertii Dunk., Carpolithes sp. Palynologicalassemblage is dominated by Schizaeaceae(mainly Concavissimisporites), the share of the latter in the pollen spectra can reach 36%. A number of club-mosses is high, up to 24%. The percentage of cyatheaceous and dicksoniaceous
ferns does not exceed 15%. Among gymnosperms the bisaccate pollen having pinaceous affinity prevails (up to 36%); it is accompanied by
Ginkgocycadophytus sp. (up to 18%). Only forpalynological assemblage of this formation thepollen of unknown affinity, Pollenites sp., having
elongated shape with longitudinal folds is characterized. Its amount may reach 12% (Kotova,
1964).
The Ubukun Formation is characterized byfine-grained clayey well-bedded deposits withash-gray massive mudstones having conchoidal
fracture. The numerous remains of lacustrine bi16

valves and ostracods have been found. The
thickness of this formation is 140–250 m (Skoblo
et al., 2001).
The Selenga Formation is represented by amulti-step alternation of two-three-term transgressive rhythms of deposits. Each of the lower
rhythms is formed by the fluvial or lacustrine
sandstones, and the overlying rhythm is represented by thicker fine-grained psammite or siltstone beds of floodplain or lacustrine origin withseams of brown coal. In total, 23 coal seams wererevealed. In the upper part of this formation, thecross-bedded sandstones become more widespread. The shells of ostracods and mollusks,
bones of fish Lycoptera fragilis Huss. have beenfound. The thickness of this formation varies
from 575 to 1330 m (Skoblo et al., 2001). The
Selenga Formation yields abundant remains ofleaves Pseudotorellia sp. and Phoenicopsis cf. krassilovii Kiritch. The findings of Pityophyllum ex gr.
nordenskioldii (Heer) Nath. are common, Coniopteris setacea Vachr., Sphenopteris (Ruffordia) cf.
goeppertii Dunk., Cladophlebidium dahuricum
Pryn., Cyparissidium gracile Heer, Podozamites
lanceolatus (L. et H.) F. Braun, Samaropsis cf. aurita Krassil., Nilssoniopteris cf. prynadae Samyl.,
Baisia cf. hirsuta Krassil., Umaltolepis sp., Ixostrobus sp., Swedenborgia sp. are rare. Palynologicalassemblage is dominated by club-mosses andbryophytes, their number may reach 46%. Percentage of cyatheaceous and dicksoniaceous
ferns increases up to 28%, schizaeaceous ferns
become more diverse. Among gymnosperms
bisaccate pollen close to Pinaceae dominates,
sometimes reaching 55%. The share of Ginkgocycadophytus sp. reduces (13%). The rare Classopollis classoides Pfl. et Jans. appears. The bulk maceration of coals of this formation has revealed
that they are composed mainly of leaves
Pseudotorellia sp. A. and fossil wood of Pinaceae.
In the Kholboldzhin Formation, the crossbedded, light gray quartz-feldspathic sandstones widely spread. About 16–17 coal seams
having the thickness from 2–4 to 30 and evenCretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western Pacific

53 m occur here. The thickness of this stratigraphic unit is 1000–1200 m (Skoblo et al., 2001).
The numerous leaves of Pseudotorellia sp. andGinkgo coriacea Florin were revealed in this formation. Next in abundance in the burials are theremains of Pityophyllum ex gr. nordenskioldii(Heer) Nath., Pityocladus sp., Cyparissidium gracile Heer, and Podozamites lanceolatus (L. et H.) F.
Braun. Palynological assemblage is dominatedby club-mosses and bryophytes (36%), as well as
by cyatheaceous and dicksoniaceous ferns (up to30%). The share of osmundaceous ferns is significant (about 12%). As compared with the previous assemblage, the number of schizaeaceous
ferns drastically reduced; they are rare. The
bisaccate pollen of Pinaceae maintains its quantitative part (48%), the percentage of Ginkgocycadophytus sp. (20%) and Classopollis classoides (2–3%) slightly increases. The palynological assemblage of this formation is characterized by theappearance of the taxodialeans (1.5%). The plantbasis of coals comprises mainly leaves Pseudotorellia sp. B. and wood of Pinaceae in this formation.
V.A. Vachrameev (1964) and I.Z. Kotova(1964) believed that the composition of the megafossil flora of the formations in Gusinoozerskiy
Basin almost does not change and they considered the geological age of GusinoozerskayaGroup as the Early Cretaceous, while
V.M. Skoblo et al. (2001) dated this group as the
Berriasian–Aptian. Our findings of guide taxa offossil plants, characteristic for the Barremian–
Aptian floras of Transbaikalia, Mongolia andnorth-eastern China (Bugdaeva, 1989; Bugdaeva
and Markevich, 2012; Krassilov, 1982; Krassilov
and Bugdaeva, 1982; Prynada, 1962; Sun et al.,2001), allow us to assume that the sedimentary
sequence of this basin was formed within the
Barremian–Early Albian.
Thus, at the beginning of formation of thebasin the conditions favorable for habitation andburial of herbivorous dinosaurs (mostly psittacosaurs, but also sauropods) appeared. Psittacosaurs had self-sharpening teeth well adapted tobrowse rude fare and crush it. The diet of psittacosaurs, like modern parrots, could consist ofseeds, fruits, branches, buds and leaves. There is
paleontological evidence that they used gastroliths (stones in the stomach) for grinding, assome recent birds. The gregarious behavior wasinherent for them. A not large size of bodies ofherbivorous dinosaurs existed in this basin may
indicate that vegetation of dinosaur ecosystems
was not abundant, highly productive and easily
restored. According to the paleobotanical data
we can assume the existence of lighted coniferous-cheirolediaceous forests with abundant undergrowth, consisting of shrubby cycadophytes,
club-mosses, mosses, and various ferns (mostly
schizaeaceous, to a lesser cyatheaceous anddicksoniaceous ferns). A recent representativesof Schizaeaceae are herbaceous or liana plants;
usually they inhabit the moist biotopes.
As the Gusinoozerskiy Basin developed andbroadened, the lakes and meandering rivers
have formed. The environment and vegetation
changed. The lacustrine ecosystem with abundant limnetic fauna begins to form. The shells of
ostracods and mollusks were buried under ash
fall as a result of the some distant volcano eruption. Since the time of deposition of the Selenga
Formation an intensive swamping of this area
occurred. The abundant vegetation provides amassive phytomass in burial and gives rise to
the coals. Swamp plant community was dominated by conifers and ginkgoaleans (Pseudotorellia), lower plants, cyatheaceous and dicksoniaceous ferns. During the time of deposition of the
Kholboldzhin Formation, the diversity of thecommunity increased by appearance of taxodialeans and ferns having affinity with Osmundaceae. Lack of dinosaur burials in the depositsof lacustrine and swamp origin can evidence ofsuch conditions were not favorable for the habitat of these animals.
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to the late
V.A. Krassilov (University of Haifa, Israel, PIN, RAS,
Moscow) for a discussion of a wide range of paleobotanical problems, V.M. Skoblo, N.A. Lyamina,
A.F. Rudnev (VostSibNIIGiMS, Irkutsk) for their help
in field work and discussion on the stratigraphy ofTransbaikalia, A.R. Sokolov, T.N. Groznova (CNIGRI
Museum VSEGEI, St. Petersburg) for kindly providing us with the specimens of the coals, N.P. Domra
and N.N. Naryshkina (IBSS FEBRAS, Vladivostok) for
assistance in the processing of our material. Special
thanks to leaders of IGCP608, corresponding memberof RAS B. Shurygin and Prof. Hisao Ando for supportof our participation in the 4th International Symposium of IGCP608.
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The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016

References
Averianov, A.O., Skutschas, P.P., 2009. Additions to
the Early Cretaceous Dinosaur Fauna of Transbaikalia, Eastern Russia. Proc. Zoological Institute RAS 313 (4), 363–378.
Bugdaeva, E.V., 1989. Correlation of the Lower Cretaceous isolated depressions of Transbaikalia
based on flora, in: Stage and zonal scales of the
Boreal Mesozoic of the USSR. Nauka, Moscow,
pp. 162–168 (Proc. IGG SB AN SSSR 722) (in Russian).
Bugdaeva, E.V., Markevich, V.S., 2012. The age of Lycoptera beds (Jehol biota) in Transbaikalia (Russia) and correlation with Mongolia and China, in:Godefroit, P. (Ed.), Bernissart Dinosaurs and Early Cretaceous Terrestrial Ecosystems. Indiana
University Press, Bloomington, pp. 452–464.
Kotova, I.Z., 1964. The age of the continental depositsof the Gusinoozerskaya depression and featuresof the Early Cretaceous floras of Transbaikalia.
Izv. Akad. Nauk, Ser. Geol. (8), 84–93 (in Russian).
Krassilov, V.A., 1982. Early Cretaceous flora of Mongolia. Palaeontographica B 181, 1–43.
Krassilov, V.A., Bugdaeva, E.V., 1982. Achene-likefossils from the Lower Cretaceous of the Lake

18

Baikal area. Rev. Palaeobot. Palynol. (36), 279–
295.
Nessov, L.A., Starkov, A.I., 1992. The Cretaceous vertebrates from Gusinoozerskiy Basin of Transbaikalia and their significance for age definitionand conditions of formation of deposits. Geology
and Geophysics (6), 10–18 (in Russian).
Prynada, V.D., 1962. Mesozoic flora of Eastern Siberia
and Transbaikalia. Gosgeoltekhizdat, Moscow(in Russian).
Sun, G., Zheng, S.-L., Dilcher, D., Wang, Y.-D., Mei,
S.-W., 2001. Early Angiosperms and their associated Plants from Western Liaoning, China. Scientific and Technological Education Publishing
House, Shanghai.
Skoblo, V.M., Lyamina, N.A., Rudnev, A.F., Luzina,
I.V., 2001. The Continental Upper Mesozoic of
the Pribaikalia and Transbaikalia (stratigraphy,
depositional environments, correlation). Publishing House of the SB RAS, Novosibirsk (in Russian).
Vachrameev, V.A., 1964. The Jurassic and Early Cretaceous floras of Eurasia and paleofloristic provinces of this time. Nauka, Moscow (Proc. Geological Institute AS USSR 102, 1–263) (in Russian).

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western PacificTaxonomy and morphological diversity of infructescences
co-occurred with Trochodendroides leaves
L.B. Golovneva and P.I. Alekseev
Komarov Botanical Institute of the RAS, Prof. Popov str. 2, St. Petersburg 197376, Russia; e-mail: Lina_Golovneva@mail.ru

The remains of distinctive follicular fruits
with subparallel longitudinal ridges and transverse striation often occur in the Late Cretaceousand Tertiary deposits in the Northern Hemisphere. They were first detected from the Paleocene deposits of Atanekerdluk in West Greenland, and then named as Nyssa arctica Heer
(1869).
Leaves associated with these follicular fruits
are usually assigned to the genus Trochodendroides, which was a common component of theLate Cretaceous and Paleogene floras from middle and high latitudes. The investigation of theircuticular features reveals the similarity ofTrochodendroides leaves with those of living genus Cercidiphyllum (Golovneva and Alekseev,2010).
Later, such fruits were assigned to a wide
range of extinct and extant genera: Leguminosites(Lesquereux, 1873, 1878), Nyssidium (Heer, 1870;
Schmalhausen, 1890; Hollick, 1936; Iljinskaya,
1974; Crane, 1984), Berrya (Knowlton, 1930), Jenkinsella (Reid and Chandler, 1933), Trochodendrocarpus (Kryshtofovich, 1958), Joffrea (Crane andStockey, 1985). Most part of these names is inappropriate. The form genus Leguminosites was
erected by Bowerbank (1840) for fruits and seedsof fossil Fabaceae from London Clay. The nameBerrya can not be used for this type of fructification, because earlier this name was established
for another plant from family Malvaceae. The
genus Trochodendrocarpus is also invalid, becausename Jenkinsella had priority before Trochodendrocarpus. Iljinskaja (1974) suggested using generic name Nyssidium Heer as the earliest appropriate generic name for this kind of fruits.
However, these fruits differ from those of Nyssa
arctica by smaller sizes and some other features(Budantsev and Golovneva, 2009).
Abundant specimens from the Upper
Paleocene Paskapoo Formation, the Joffre Bridge
locality, Alberta, Canada, allowed describing themost complete Cercidiphyllum-like plant (Crane
and Stockey, 1985). Joffrea speirsii Crane et Stock-

ey is known from shoots, leaves, pistillate inflorescences, infructescences, winged seeds andseedlings. Associated staminate inflorescenceswere described later as Alasia (Golovneva, 2006).
Although the name Nyssidium is now widely used, it should be rejected for isolated follicles
and racemes, associated with Trochodendroides
leaves. In other case delimitation of this kind offructification from other similar remains will be
problematic. The earliest generic name originally designated for fruits of Cercidiphyllum-likeplants with distinguishable morphology andcritical details of inner structures is Jenkinsella.
We suggested applying the name Jenkinsella todispersed follicular fruits or to fruits attached tothe axis (raceme).
In the genus Jenkinsella we recognized three
species: J. apocynoides Reid et Chandler, J. arctica(Heer) Bell and J. filatovii (Samylina) Golovneva
et P. Alekseev. The first of these is applied to thepermineralized fruits from the London Clay
Formation for which many morphological andanatomical details were revealed. Second name
we suggested to use as broadly defined species
to accommodation of fruits preserved mostly as
impression without anatomical details. Variations in shape and size usually do not provide
sufficient basis for separation of morphological
species.
For present time several types of follicular
racemose infructescence, attached to shoots,
were described: Joffrea speirsii from the Paskopoo
Formation (Paleocene, Canada), “Trochodendrocarpus arcticus” from the Upper Tsagayan Formation (Paleocene, Russia), “Nyssidium arcticum” from the British Lower Tertiary and“Berrya racemosa” from the Dawson arkose(Paleocene, USA). The same kind of infructescences were documented in detail from the
Paleocene of north-east China as Nyssidium
jiayinense G.P. Feng, C.S. Li, Zhilin, Y.F. Wang etGabrielyan (Feng et al., 2000). N.M. Makulbekov(1988) described Trochodendrocarpus asiaticus
Makulbekov from the Paleocene of Mongolia.
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The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016

Fig. 1. Schematic reconstructions of fertile shoots of different species of Jenkinsella (a–d) and Joffrea speirsii (f): a – longshoot with alternate lateral infructescences in terminal position and vegetative shoot developing from apical bud(Jenkinsella krassilovii); b – long shoot with alternate short shoots, bearing singly infructescences in terminal position(Jenkinsella confertus and J. makulbekovii); c – long shoot with alternate lateral and one apical infructescences (Jenkinsella
jiayinensis, J. knowltonii and J. vilyuensis); d – terminal short with one lateral and one apical infructescences (Jenkinsellagardnerii); f – long shoot with alternate short shoots, bearing three alternate lateral infructescences (Joffrea speirsii).

Two more types of these infructescences were
found recently in the Coniacian deposits of the
Sym Formation in Western Siberia and in theTuronian–Coniacian deposits of the Timmerdyakh Formation in Eastern Siberia.
The general construction of racemose infructescences and fruits of all known specimens
is practically identical. This similarity allows
supposing that these plants were closely related
and differences are not sufficient for separate
generic designation. To avoid further confusion,
we recommend to consider all known findings
under one generic name and differentiate themspecifically. For this aim we suggest to use thename Jenkinsella to accommodate also racemose
infructescense of follicular fruits, attached to theshoots. Now we include another seven species
in this genus: Jenkinsella krassilovii Golovneva et
P. Alekseev, J. gardnerii (Chandler) Golovneva et
P. Alekseev, J. knowltonii Golovneva et P. Alekseev, J. jiayinensis (G.P. Feng, C.S. Li, Zhilin,
Y.F. Wang et Gabrielyan) Golovneva et P. Ale20

kseev, J. confertus P. Alekseev et Golovneva,
J. makulbekovii Golovneva et P. Alekseev, andJ. vilyuensis Golovneva et P. Alekseev (Fig. 1).
General organization of infructescences issimilar in all species of Jenkinsella. This is a raceme with numerous follicles that were borne on
short side branches of infructescence axis. Eachside branch bears one or two short-stalked follicles. There is the junction between the follicle
stalk and the side branch of the infructescence.
The follicles or pairs of follicles are often broken
away at this joint. This similarity indicates close
relationship of all species in spite of differencesin position of infructescences. The differences
between species in infructescence and follicles
features are insignificant. The infructescenceswere developed from lateral flower buds without leaves. Production of infructescences fromthe apical bud terminates the growth of shoot.
Because the long shoots of Jenkinsella with infructescences usually shed as a unit, it is possibly to suggest that most part of them had apicalinfructescence.

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western Pacific

The reproductive structures of Jenkinsella
confertus resemble those in Joffrea speirsii. This
plant also exhibits long and short shoot differentiation. General construction of the racemose infructescences in both species is also similar.
However, short shoots of J. confertus bore one
terminal infructescence, while short shoots ofJoffrea speirsii had at least two infructescences.

The fossil records of Jenkinsella range from
Early–Middle Albian to Oligocene and occur
mostly in temperate and subtropical areas of theSiberian-Canadian paleofloristic realm. Majorityof findings of this genus comes from the Paleocene and Eocene deposits.
The study was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (project no. 16-04-01411).

References
Bowerbank, J.S., 1840. A history of the fossil fruits andseeds of the London Clay. John Van Voorst,
London.
Budantsev, L.Y., Golovneva, L.B., 2009. Fossil Flora of
Arctic II—Palaeogene Flora of Spitsbergen. Marafon, Saint Petersburg.
Crane, P.R., 1984. A re-evaluation of Cercidiphyllumlike plant fossils from the British early Tertiary.
Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 89, 199–230.
Crane, P.R., Stockey, R.A., 1985. Growth and reproductive biology of Joffrea speirsii gen. et sp. nov.,a Cercidiphyllum-like plant from the Late Paleocene of Alberta, Canada. Can. J. Bot. 63(2), 340–
364.
Feng, G.P., Li, C.S., Zhilin, S.G., Wang, Y.F., Gabrielyan, I.G., 2000. Nyssidium jiayinense sp. nov.
(Cercidiphyllaceae) of the Early Tertiary from
north-east China. Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 134, 471–484.
Golovneva, L.B., 2006. Alasia, gen. nov. – male inflorescences, associated with Trochodendroides
leaves (Cercidiphyllaceae). Bot. J. 91(12), 1898–
1906 (in Russian).
Golovneva, L.B., Alekseev, P.I., 2010. The genus
Trochodendroides Berry in the Cretaceous floras ofSiberia. Palaeobotany 1, 120–166 (in Russian).
Heer, O., 1869. Contributions to the fossil flora ofNorth Greenland, being a description of theplants collected by Mr. Edward Whymper during the summer of 1867. Philos. Trans. R. Soc.
London 159, 445–488.
Heer, O., 1870. Die Miocene Flora und Fauna Spitzbergens. Kongl. Svenska Vetensk. Akad. Handl.
8 (7), 1–98.

Hollick, A., 1936. The Tertiary floras of Alaska. U. S.
Geol. Surv. Prof. Pap. 182, 1–185.
Iljinskaja, I.A., 1974. Nyssidium Heer, in: Takhtajan,
A.L. (Ed.), Magnoliophyta Fossilia URSS. Vol. 1.
Nauka, Leningrad, pp. 123–124 (in Russian).
Knowlton, F.H., 1930. The flora of the Denver andassociated formations of Colorado. U. S. Geol.
Surv. Prof. Pap. 155, 1–135.
Kryshtofovich, A.N., 1958. Fossil floras of Penjin Bay,
Tastakh Lake and Rarytkin Range. Trans. Bot.
Inst., Ser. 8, 3, 74–121 (in Russian).
Lesquereux, L., 1873. Enumeration and description offossil plants from the Western Tertiary
formations. Description of species of fossil plantsfrom the Cretaceous of Kansas. U. S. Geol.
Geogr. Surv. Terr., Ann. Rep., pp. 371–427.
Lesquereux, L., 1878. Contributions to the fossil floraof the Western Territories. Pt. II. The Tertiary
flora. U. S. Geol. Surv. Terr., Rep. 7, pp. 1–366.
Makulbekov, N.M., 1988. Paleogene flora of Southern
Mongolia. Nauka, Moscow (in Russian).
Reid, E.M., Chandler, M.E., 1933. The London Clayflora. British Museum Natural History, London.
Schmalhausen, J., 1890. Wissenschaftliche Resultate
der von der Kaiserlichen Akademie derWisswnschaften zur erforschung des Janalandes
und der Neusibirischen Inseln in der Jahren 1885
und 1886 ausgesandten Expedition. Abt. II.
Tertiäre pflanzen der Insel Neusibirien. Mém.
Acad. Imp. Sci. St.-Pétersbourg. VII Sér. 37(5), 1–
22.

21

The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016

The composition and dynamics of the Late Cretaceous and Paleocene
Arctic plant communities
A.B. Herman1 and R.A. Spicer2
1Geological Institute of the RAS, Pyzhevskii per. 7, Moscow 119017, Russia; e-mail: alexeiherman@gmail.com
2Environment, Earth and Ecosystems, The Open University, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, UK

The Arctic is rich with Late Cretaceous andPaleocene plant fossils evidencing a thriving,
diverse, but now extinct polar ecosystem thatsequestered vast amounts of carbon (Herman,
2013; Spicer and Herman, 2010). The polar climate and light regime were key constraints on
floral composition and dynamics (Herman et al.,2016). By combining field and museum studies
across North America and Northern Asia a picture has emerged of a highly productive polar
ecosystem surrounding a warm Arctic Oceanand shrouded in an almost permanent cover ofcloud and mist. High rainfall, warm temperatures and 24 hours of diffuse sunlight led to highsummer productivity (Spicer and Herman,
2010). Cool wet winters favoured the translationof autumnal leaf fall and above ground biomass
dieback into deep time storage, thus making
these forests highly effective systems for sequestering carbon. By using collections and observations made over large numbers of field seasons
working in different geographic areas and on
rocks of different ages it has been possible togain insights into palaeofloral associations, andeven seral successions.
The sedimentologically dynamic Arctic
floodplains captured a patchwork of plantcommunities at different stages of development.
Detailed examination of the distributions ofplant remains in time and space, and repeatedassociations that occur between particular planttaxa and particular sedimentary facies, allows
the reconstruction of changes in Arctic vegetation composition and dynamics throughout theLate Cretaceous and into the Paleocene (Herman, 2013; Herman et al., 2016; Spicer andHerman, 2010). Based on many thousands of leaf
and leafy shoot remains, fossil wood and reproductive organ assemblages from Northeastern
Russia and Northern Alaska we identify a number of successional plant communities (SPCs)
representing seral development from early(primary colonisers, pioneer), through middle to22late (mature, 'climax') SPCs. By looking at taxon/facies relationships in successive taphofloras
through longer intervals of time we have beenable to study the evolution of seral succession.
Successional plant communities (SPCs) arethose aggregations of taxa that repeatedly occur
in stages as a bare substrate is initially colonised
and the composition of the vegetation changes
until a relatively stable state is attained, often,
but not always, comprising a mature forest. In
our case we divide the SPCs into three categories: Early, Middle and Late (Fig. 1). The boundaries between these stages are not rigid, but aretransitional as the composition changes by theaddition or loss of individual taxa.
We recognise that (1) horsetails Equisetites
and some ferns (typically Birisia, but after the
beginning of the Maastrichtian, Onoclea) were
obligatory components of the early SPCs; (2) the
first rare angiosperms (e.g., the dicot Vitiphyllum
multifidum) appeared in the middle SPCs of the
Arctic in the Early–Middle Albian and occupied
disturbed near-channel habitats; (3) from Late
Albian times onwards angiosperms became
abundant in the middle SPCs of the Arctic, butwere still rare in the earlier and later SPCs;(4) monocots appeared in the Maastrichtian inearly, predominantly aquatic, SPCs; (5) all Arctic
Cretaceous late SPCs (and 'climax' vegetation)
were dominated by conifers; (6) Arctic SPCs
were taxonomically more diverse under warm
climate intervals than cold; (7) during the Albianand Late Cretaceous, advanced (Cenophytic,
angiosperm-dominated) plant communities coexisted with those of a more relictual (Mesophytic, dominated by ferns and gymnosperms)
aspect, and plants in these communities tended
not to mix; (8) coal-forming environments(mires) remained conifer, fern and bryophyte
dominated throughout the Late Cretaceous andPaleocene with little penetration of woody angiosperm components and so are conservativeand predominantly Mesophytic in character;

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western PacificFig. 1. Idealised successional plant communities based on three exemplar fossil floras: the Middle to Late Albian
Kukpowruk Flora (Spicer and Herman, 2001), the latest Albian–Cenomanian Grebenka Flora (Spicer et al., 2002) andthe Late Maastrichtian Koryak Flora (Moiseeva, 2005, 2012). Ecologically dominant taxa are shown in bold and angiosperms are underlined.

(9) bryophytes and ferns, with some subordinate
conifers, make up a persistent raised mire climax community that is most widely developedin Late Albian, Cenomanian and Campaniantimes, with the Campanian exhibiting particularly high levels of bryophyte diversity;(10) general Cretaceous SPC characteristics weremaintained into the Paleocene due to migrations

from Northeastern Russia into the more northerly Northern Alaska and (11) there was no significant extinction across the K/Pg boundary.
These observations attest to Arctic vegetation displaying persistent structure and dynamics despite a general Late Cretaceous cooling
trend and events at the Cretaceous–Paleogene
transition.

References
Herman, A.B., 2013. Albian–Paleocene flora of theNorth Pacific: Systematic composition, palaeofloristics and phytostratigraphy. Stratigr. Geol. Correl. 21(7), 689–747.
Herman, A.B., Spicer, R.A., Spicer, T.E.V., 2016. Environmental constraints on terrestrial vertebrate
behaviour and reproduction in the high Arctic of
the Late Cretaceous. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 441, 317–338.
Moiseeva, M.G., 2005. Koryak floristic assemblage ofNortheastern Russia: Systematic composition,
ecological, taphonomical and palaeoclimaticcharacteristics, in: Akhmetiev, M.A., Herman,
A.B. (Eds.), Modern problems of palaeofloristics,
palaeophytogeography and phytostratigraphy.
GEOS, Moscow, pp. 212–223 (in Russian).

Moiseeva, M.G., 2012. The Maastrichtian Flora of the
Amaam Lagoon Area (Northeastern Russia).
Stratigr. Geol. Correl. 20(7), 579–679.
Spicer, R.A., Herman, A.B., 2001. The Albian–Cenomanian flora of the Kukpowruk River,western North Slope, Alaska: stratigraphy,
palaeofloristics,
and
plant
communities.
Cretaceous Res. 22, 1–40.
Spicer, R.A., Herman, A.B., 2010. The Late Cretaceous
environment of the Arctic: A quantitative
reassessment based on plant fossils. Palaeogeogr.
Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 295, 423–442.
Spicer, R.A., Ahlberg, A., Herman, A.B., Kelley, S.P.,
Raikevich, M.I., Rees, P.M., 2002. Palaeoenvironment
and ecology of the middle Cretaceous Grebenka
flora of northeastern Asia. Palaeogeogr.
Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 184, 65–105.
23

The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016

Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous oysters (Bivalvia, Ostreoidea) from Siberia:Taxonomy, palaeoecology, distribution and variations of carbon and oxygen isotopes
I.N. Kosenko1,2
1Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics, Siberian Branch of RAS, Acad. Koptyug av. 3, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
2Novosibirsk State University, Pirogova str. 2, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia

e-mail: kosenkoin@ipgg.sbras.ru

The present contribution is an analysis of
more than 300 specimens of Upper Jurassic–
Lower Cretaceous oysters collected by V.A.
Zakharov during the 1960s and currently stored
in Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology andGeophysics, Siberian Branch of RAS (Novosibirsk, Russia). They were sampled in the northwestern margin of Western Siberia (Yatriya,
Maurynya, Tol’ya, and Lopsiya rivers) and thenorth of Eastern Siberia (Boyarka, Bol’shaya
Romanikha, and Dyabaka-Tari rivers) (Zakharov, 1966; Saks, 1972; Zakharov and Mesezhnikov, 1974; Kosenko, 2014). During the last five
years, they were examined with taxonomic andpalaeoecological purposes.
Taxonomic study included classical morphofunctional and biometrical analyses. A large
number of Cretaceous oysters from Crimea aswell as of modern Pacific oysters, Crassostrea gigas, have been involved in this study to understand the range of modification variability between different species (Kosenko, 2016). Oysters
identified previously as Liostrea are attributed
now to four genera: Praeexogyra, Helvetostrea(Flemingostreidae), Pernostrea (Gryphaeidae),and one new genus (Gryphaeidae) including only species “Liostrea” roemeri (Quenstedt). The latter genus is characterised by peculiar ethology,
being attached to floating ammonites, and morphology outlined by a beak-shaped umbo on theright (!) valve. Endemic Siberian species fromthe genus Pernostrea have recently been included
into the subgenus Boreiodeltoideum Kosenko,
2016. Genera Pernostrea and Deltoideum havebeen included into the new tribe (under description) from the subfamily Gryphaeinae. Model ofphylogenetic relationships between species ofthis tribe has been proposed.
Siberian oyster complexes are comparedwith complexes from Western Europe, Poland
and East European Platform (Table 1). Two
24stages of oyster development, Jurassic stage andCretaceous stage, are recognised in western Boreal and Subboreal domains (England, northern
France and Poland). In Siberia, Jurassic and Early Cretaceous oysters formed a unique complex.
This may be explained by the absence of goodcommunications between west European andPolish basins and Siberian basins during the earliest Cretaceous.
Based on carbonate material of oyster shells
the stable isotope analyses were performed, andpalaeotemperatures were calculated. Seven oyster shells of Pernostrea (Pernostrea) uralensis(Zakharov) from the Jurassic–Cretaceous
boundary interval (Upper Volgian–lowermost
Ryazanian) of Maurynya River have been used
to obtain δ13C and δ18O data (Kosenko et al.,2013). The preservation of the carbonate material
was controlled by the following methods: cathodoluminescence analyses; control of content
of Fe, Mn, Sr; control of absence of correlation
between δ13C and δ18O and content of Fe and
Mn. The obtained δ13C and δ18O data were compared with isotopic data based on belemnites
from the same section (Dzyuba et al., 2013) andwere used to estimate palaeotemperatures. A
general trend towards negative δ18O values wasrecognised in the Maurynya section, from thelower part of the Upper Volgian to the middle
part of the Ryazanian Chetaites sibiricus ammonite Zone. The same trend was also establishedin the Nordvik section (Dzyuba et al., 2013). The
higher palaeotemperatures (2°C in average) determined from oyster shells indicate that belemnites likely migrated laterally and lived part oftheir lives in cooler waters.
This work is a contribution to the IGCP608 andprograms 30 and 43 of the Presidium of the RAS andfinancially supported by the Russian Foundation for
Basic Researches (grant no. 16-35-00003).

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western Pacific

Table 1Comparison of Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous complexes of oysters from
northwestern part of Western Siberia, northern Eastern Siberia and Europe(author's names are kept)

Poland(Pugaczewska, 1971, 1975)

Western Europe(Switzerland)(Koppka, 2015)

Kimmeridgian

Pernostrea(Pernostrea) sp. n. 1,
Helvetostrea exotica(Kosenko),
Gryphaea (Gryphaea)
curva (Ger.),
Nanogyra (Nanogyra)nana (Sow.)

Pernostrea(Pernostrea) sp. n. 1,“Liostrea” roemeri(Quenstedt)

Ostrea plastica(Trautsch.),Exogyra virgula(Defrance)

Alectryonia gregarea (Sow.),
A. solitaria (Sow.), A. rastellaris(Münster), A. pulligera (Goldfuss),
A. vallata (Étallon),
A. flabelliformis (Nilsson),
Arctostrea hastellata (Schl.),
Liostrea delta (Smith),
L. oxfordiana (Rollier),
L. quadrangularis (Arkell),L. gryphaeata (Schl.), L. sequana(Thurm.), L. moreana (Buv.),
L. monsbeliardensis (Cont.),
L. brasili Chavan,
L. polymorpha (Münster),
L. multiformis (Koch et Dunker),
Gryphaea dilatata (Sow.),
Nanogyra nana (Sow.),
Exogyra virgula (Defrance),
E. reniformis (Goldf.), E. welseni(Jourdi), E. intricata (Cont.)

Circunula cotyleodon(Cont.),
Nanogyra (Nanogyra)nana (Sow.),
N. (Palaeogyra)
reniformis (Gold.),
N. (P.) virgula(Deshayes),
Helvetostrea sequana(Thurm. et Étallon),
Praeexogyra dubiensis(Cont.),
P. monsbeliardensis(Cont.),
Actinostreon gregarium(Sow.)

VolgianPernostrea(Pernostrea) sp. n. 2,
P. (P.) gibberosa(Zakharov),
P. (P.) uralensis(Zakharov),
Pernostrea? sp. n. 3,
Praeexogyra siberica(Zakharov),“Liostrea”roemeri(Quenstedt),
Nanogyra (Nanogyra)
thurmanni (Étallon),N. (N.) nana (Sow.)

Pernostrea(Boreiodeltoideum)
praeanabarensis(Zakharov)

Ostrea plastica(Trautsch.),Gryphaea curva(Ger.),
Ostrea expansa(Sow.),
O. unciformis(Buv.),
O. kharashovensis(Roullier),O. dibiensis(Cont.),
Exogyra nana
(Sow.)

Liostrea dubisensis (Cont.),
L. unciformis (Buv.),
L. plastica (Trautsch.),L. virguloides (Lew.),
Exogyra michalskii Lew.,
E. decipiensis Lew.

no data

Pernostrea(Pernostrea) uralensis
Zakharov,
Praeexogyra
lyapinensis(Zakharov),
P. siberica (Zakharov)

Pernostrea(Boreiodeltoideum)
anabarensis (Bodyl.)

Ostrealimaciforme Ger.

Ceratostreon tuberculiferum(Koch et Dunker),
Rhynchostreon etalloni(Pictet et Campiche),
Ostrea sanctae crucis(Pictet et Campiche)no datano data

Pernostrea(Boreiodeltoideum)
anabarensis (Bodyl.),
Pernostrea(Pernostrea)
cucurbita (Zakharov),
Gryphaea borealis
Zakharov

no data

Aetostreon latissimum (Lam.),A. neocomiensis (Orb.),
Ceratostreon minos (Coq.),
Rhynchostreon
tombeckianum (Orb.),
Gryphaeostrea cf. lateralis (Nilss.),G. arduennensis (Orb.),
Ostrea sanctae cricis (Pictet etCampiche), O. germaini (Coq.),
Lopha cf. cotteaui (Coq.),
L. cf. eos (Coq.)no data

Valanginian

European part ofRussia(Gerasimov, 1955)

RyazanianNorthern and
Subpolar Urals(north-western partof Western Siberia)

Northern Eastern
Siberia25

The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016

References
Dzyuba, O.S., Izokh, O.P., Shurygin, B.N., 2013. Carbon isotope excursions in Boreal JurassicCretaceous boundary sections and their correlation potential. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 381–382, 33–46.
Gerasimov, P.A., 1955. Index fossils of the Mesozoicof the central regions of the European part of the
USSR. Gosgeoltekhizdat, Moscow (in Russian).
Koppka, J., 2015. Revision of the Bivalvia from the Upper Jurassic Reuchenette Formation, Northwest
Switzerland – Ostreoidea. Zootaxa 3927, 1–117.
Kosenko, I.N., 2014. On Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous oysters (Bivalvia, Ostreidae) from northern
Siberia. Paleontol. J. 48(4), 380–388.
Kosenko, I.N., 2016. On Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous oysters of the genus Deltoideum Rollier (Bivalvia, Ostreoidea) from Siberia. Paleontol. J.
50(4), 336–346.
Kosenko, I.N., Izokh, O.P., Dzyuba, O.S., Shurygin,
B.N., 2013. Variatsii izotopov ugleroda i kisloro-

26

da v rakovinakh ustrits iz prigranichnykh otlozhenii yury i mela reki Maurynya (Zapadnaya
Sibir’), in: XX simpozium po geokhimii izotopov
imeni akademika A.P. Vinogradova (12–14 noyabrya 2013 g.): Tezisy dokladov. Akvarel’, Moscow, pp. 185–188 (in Russian).
Pugaczewska, H., 1971. Jurassic Ostreidae of Poland.
Acta Palaeontol. Polon. 16(3), 193–311.
Pugaczewska, H., 1975. Neocomian oysters from Central Poland. Acta Palaeontol. Polon. 20(1), 47–72.
Saks, V.N. (Ed.), 1972. The Jurassic–Cretaceous
boundary and the Berriasian Stage in the Boreal
Belt. Nauka, Novosibirsk (in Russian).
Zakharov, V.A., 1966. Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous bivalves (order Anisomyaria) of northern
Siberia and the conditions of their existence.
Nauka, Moscow (in Russian).
Zakharov, V.A., Mesezhnikov, M.S., 1974. The Volgian Stage in the Subpolar Urals. Nauka, Novosibirsk (in Russian).

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western Pacific

The neuropteran assemblage (Insecta) of the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amberconfirms transitional character of its biota
V.N. Makarkin
Institute of Biology and Soil Science, Far Eastern Branch of RAS, pr. 100-letiya 159, Vladivostok 690022, Russia; e-mail: vnmakarkin@mail.ru

The biological inclusions of Burmese amber
represent a sample of a tropical forest community in equatorial southeastern Asia at ~12oN paleolatitude (Grimaldi et al., 2002; Poinar et al.,2008). The volcaniclastic matrix of the amber isestimated as ~98.79±0.62 million years old, i.e.,near the Albian–Cenomanian (Early–Late Cretaceous) boundary (Shi et al., 2012), but the amberis considered to be slightly older, Late Albian.
Fossils of the order Neuroptera have beenfound as old as the early Permian. Today, thisorder is comprised of 16 families. A preliminary
analysis of published and unpublished materials
reveals the presence of 18 neuropteran families
in Burmese amber, 13 of which are extant and 5
extinct. To date, 25 neuropteran species havebeen described from Burmese amber, and more
specimens in existing collections remain undescribed.
The vast majority of extant families arefound in Burmese amber. Polystoechotidae isthe only extant family known from the Cretaceous that is still not recorded from it. It isnoteworthy, however, that only a few representatives of some Coniopterygidae, Nevrorthidae,
Osmylidae and Dilaridae are similar to extant
taxa, certainly or probably (Nevrorthidae, Osmylidae) belonging to their crown groups. Allother extant families are represented in Burmese
amber by unusual and/or distantly related supergeneric taxa (extinct subfamilies and tribes)
that belong to their stem groups.
Burmese amber has the oldest fossil records
for the extant families Sisyridae, Dilaridae andNevrorthidae, but they are undoubtedly older,originating at least as far back as the Jurassic. Allother extant families in Burmese amber except
Nemopteridae are recorded from the Jurassic (itsoldest known record is in the Late Aptian Crato
Formation of Brazil). Unusual larvae similar to
those of Crocinae (Nemopteridae) are rather
common in Burmese amber, represented by atleast two species (e.g., Xia et al., 2015, see figs.
on pp. 99, 100).

The Nevrorthidae is recorded from Burmese
amber (and the Mesozoic) for the first time,
based on the photograph of Xia et al. (2015, rightupper fig. on p. 101). Judging from this, this undescribed species does not strongly differ fromBaltic amber and extant taxa.
The Coniopterygidae are relatively rare in
Burmese amber. Two species assigned to two extinct genera have been described (Engel, 2004a),
and there is at least one undescribed genus andspecies. One genus belongs to extant tribe Fontenelleini.
All known adult specimens of Burmese amber Osmylidae belong to the extant relict subfamily Gumillinae (Myskowiak et al., 2016; pers.
obs.), whose single extant species is distributedin Brazil. Two possible larvae of Osmylidae
would be very unusual for that group (Engeland Grimaldi, 2008, figs. 9–11; Xia et al., 2015,
upper fig. on p. 95).
The Berothidae are the most abundant anddiverse neuropterans in Burmese amber, withmore than 100 known specimens and thirteen
species and one unnamed larva described (Engel, 2004b; Engel and Grimaldi, 2008; Makarkin,
2015; Shi et al., 2015). The subfamily affinities ofmost of these are unclear (expect the Cretaceous
subfamily Paraberothinae), but they probably do
not belong to extant subfamilies.
One Burmese amber species assigned to the
Mantispidae (Poinar and Buckley, 2011) is, however, not conclusively a member of this family;in any case, its subfamily affinity is entirely unclear.
Some larvae of Chrysopidae from Burmese
amber are in general similar to those of someextant taxa, in particular in bearing short lateral
tubercles (processes) (e.g., Xia et al., 2015, figs.
on p. 96). They are extremely elongated on a
few undescribed chrysopoid trash/debriscarrying larvae that are similar to Hallucinochrysa Pérez-de la Fuente from the Albianof Spain. No adult chrysopids are known from
Burmese amber.
27

The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016

Stem group Hemerobiidae and Ithonidae
are present in private collections, with at least
one undescribed species each.
Larval Nymphidae are common in Burmese
amber, implying that they were probably arboreal. They represent several species, all of which
are generally similar to those of Nymphinae.
Adults of the family are scarce; one species has
been described based on an incomplete specimen (Engel and Grimaldi, 2008).
The larvae of a few species of Psychopsidae are quite common in Burmese amber, consistent with the arboreal habit of their modern
species. At least three adults are known, one ofwhich has been described (Engel and Grimaldi,2008).
All known specimens of Burmese amber
Sisyridae belong to the extinct subfamily Paradoxosisyrinae (Makarkin, 2016; pers. obs.). They
are remarkable in possessing extremely long, siphonate mouthparts.
The Dilaridae are rather common, and very
diverse in Burmese amber, with three species
described to date (Huang et al., 2015; Lu et al.,2016). The majority of the species have long siphonate mouthparts, but some are similar to theextant Dilar Rambur and have the mandibutemouthparts that are usual for the family.
Of its five extinct families, Burmese amber
has the youngest record for four, the Kalligrammatidae, Araripeneuridae, Babinskaiidae,
and Mesochrysopidae; the Dipteromantispidae
are known in younger (Turonian) New Jersey
amber. Undescribed Kalligrammatidae and one
species of Araripeneuridae were reported from
Burmese amber by Huang et al. (2016), and Dipteromantispidae by Liu et al. (2016a). The Babinskaiidae are reported here for the first time
based on photographs provided by Xia et al.
(2015, fig. on p. 94). The Mesochrysopidae arerepresented in Burmese amber by one species
similar to the Barremian genus Allopterus Zhang(Liu et al., 2016b).

The middle Cretaceous was a time of mostintensive transformation of terrestrial ecosystems, shifting from those dominated by ancient
gymnosperm groups to those dominated by angiosperms, Pinaceae and polypod ferns (‘themid-Cretaceous biocenotic crisis’ of Zherikhin,1978). In the Burmese amber forest, confident
records of extinct gymnosperm groups (e.g.,
Bennettitales) are so far unknown (except forpossible pollen of Bennettitales: Peñalver et al.,2015), but angiosperms were already diverse,
and all known ferns are polypods (Schneider etal., 2016). At the same time, extant families dominate the neuropteran assemblage, and extinct
families are rare.
The transitional character of the Burmese
amber neuropteran assemblage is most clearlyseen in the coexistence of three neuropterangroups with siphonate mouthparts, i.e., large Kalligrammatidae, moderately-sized Dilaridae, andsmall Sisyridae. Most of the Mesozoic kalligrammatid species had a long proboscis. They are assumed to have fed on pollination drops and pollen of extinct gymnosperms, mainly Bennettitales
and Caytoniales (Labandeira et al., 2016), and became extinct along with most of their presumptive host plants in early Late Cretaceous. On theother hand, species of Dilaridae and Sisyridae
with siphonate mouthparts probably fed on nectar and pollen of flowers, as their proboscis was
short, suitable to the shallow calyx (often lessthan 1 mm) of known Burmese amber flowers. It
may be assumed that these Burmese amber
sisyrids and dilarids were among the first specialized groups of insect pollinators, which occupied
the newly formed niche provided by flowers as asource of food. However, these groups may havealso become extinct through an inability to compete as other more active and successful flower
visitors appeared, mainly bees.
The study is supported by the grant from theRussian Foundation for Basic Researches no. 16-0400053.

References
Engel, M.S., 2004a. The Dustywings in Cretaceous
Burmese Amber (Insecta: Neuroptera: Coniopterygidae). J. Syst. Palaeontol. 2(2), 133–136.
Engel, M.S., 2004b. Thorny lacewings (Neuroptera:
Rhachiberothidae) in Cretaceous amber from
Myanmar. J. Syst. Palaeontol. 2(2), 137–140.
28

Engel, M.S., Grimaldi, D.A., 2008. Diverse Neuropterida in Cretaceous amber, with particular reference to the paleofauna of Myanmar (Insecta).
Nova Suppl. Entomol. 20, 1–86.
Grimaldi, D.A., Engel, M.S., Nascimbene, P.C., 2002.
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29

The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016

The mid-Cretaceous swamp plant communities of northeastern Asia
V.S. Markevich1, E.V. Bugdaeva1, T.A. Kovaleva1,2,3, E.B. Volynets1 and M.A. Afonin1
1Institute of Biology and Soil Science, Far Eastern Branch of RAS, pr. 100-letiya 159, Vladivostok 690022, Russia; e-mail: markevich@biosoil.ru
2Research Center of Paleontology & Stratigraphy, Jilin University, Changchun 130026, China
3Key Lab of Past Life & Environment in NE Asia, MOE, Changchun 130026, China

In eastern Russia, the coal-bearing deposits
that were formed during the Barremian–Albianin the high and mid-latitudes are widespread.
The former developed in the region of Yakutia
and Chukotka, the latter – in the Amur region
and Primorye. We studied the fossil floras of the
Ainakhkurgen (Aptian) and Chimchememel(Early Albian) formations of the Ainakhkurgen
Basin located in the middle reaches of the Anuy
River (Chukotka). The lower part of the sequence formed in a marine environment, theupper part – in brackish and continental environments.
The palynological assemblage of the Ainakhkurgen Formation is dominated by ferns having affinity with Cyatheaceae, Dicksoniaceae
and Osmundaceae. They are accompanied byferns close to Polypodiaceae. Spores of Gleicheniaceae are rare and sporadic, while sporesof Schizaeaceae occur somewhat more common.
Among gymnosperms the conifers (Pinaceae
and Podocarpaceae) and Ginkgocycadophytus sp.
dominate. They are accompanied by taxa close
to Taxodiaceae and Podozamitaceae.
The fossil plants of the Ainakhkurgen Formation (Filippova, 1975) are represented byferns, cycadaleans, bennettitaleans, ginkgoaleans, czekanowskialeans, and conifers (Pinaceae
and Podozamitaceae).
The palynological assemblage of the Chimchememel Formation is dominated by the gymnosperms. Among them Ginkgocycadophytus sp.,
Pinaceae, Podocarpaceae and Taxodiaceae prevail.
The
percentageofpollenofPodozamitaceae decreases and pollen of Cheirolepidiaceae increases. The taxonomic composition of spores is depleted. They are mainly represented by taxa close to Cyatheaceae andDicksoniaceae, the share of Osmundaceae sharply reduces. The representatives of Gleicheniaceae and Schizaeaceae are rare.
The fossil plants of the Chimchememel
Formation (Filippova, 1975) include horsetails,
30

bryophytes, ferns, bennettites, ginkgoaleans,czekanowskialeans and conifers (Pinaceae, Cheirolepidiaceae, Podozamitaceae, and Taxodiaceae).
Both floras have depleted and rather unvaried taxonomic composition. During the Aptian,the plant communities were dominated by cyatheaceous, dicksoniaceous and osmundaceous
ferns. Tree and shrub vegetation was represented by pinaceous, podocarpaceous, taxodiaceousand podozamitaceous conifers, ginkgoaleans,czekanowskialeans, cycadaleans, and bennettitaleans. During the Albian, the ferns lose theirsignificance (by reducing of the Osmundaceae),
trees and shrubs become more diverse (a new
species of pinaceous and cheirolepidiaceous conifers, as well as rare gleicheniaceous ferns andangiosperms appear).
The flora of the more southern coal-bearing
basins of the Amur River region (Bureya Basin)
and Primorye region (Partizansk and Razdolnaya River basins) was studied.
The Bureya Basin is located in the upper
reaches of the Bureya River, a tributary of theAmur River. The Barremian–Aptian coalbearing deposits of this basin were divided into
the Chagdamyn and Chemchukin formations.
The palynological assemblage of the Chagdamyn Formation (Barremian) is characterised byhigh diversity and abundance of cyatheaceous,gleicheniaceous and osmundaceous ferns;
among gymnosperms the pinaceous and taxodiaceous conifers dominate, the share of Ginkgocycadophytus in palynospectra remains rather high(Markevich and Bugdaeva 2014). The diversityof ferns and cycadophytes is low in the megafossil flora of the Chagdamyn Formation. The
horsetails, bryophytes, czekanowskialeans andsome ginkgoaleans (Sphenobaiera) disappear. The
ginkgoaleans
Eretmophyllum
glandulosum(Samyl.) Krassil. and Ginkgoites longipilosus
Krassil. dominate in the burials (Krassilov, 1972,1973).

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western Pacific

The palynological assemblage of the Chemchukin Formation (Aptian) is dominated byspores Cyathidites and Gleicheniidites, pollen of
taxa close to Taxodiaceae and Pinaceae, locallyGinkgocycadophytus. The megafossil flora of the
Chemchukin Formation is characterised by anincrease in taxonomic diversity (Vachrameev
and Doludenko, 1961; Krassilov, 1972, 1973). The
ferns and ginkgoaleans hold a role of dominants.
The
bryophytes,
cycadophytes,
czekanowskialeans, conifers Elatides sp. andAthrotaxopsis expansa Font. are locally abundant(Krassilov, 1973).
The significant floristic events took place
during the Barremian in the Bureya Basin: thediversity of ferns abruptly reduced, Gleicheniaceae began to play a dominant role in plantcommunities, Czekanowskiales and cycadophytes disappeared, among Ginkgoales Eretmophyllum glandulosum and Ginkgoites longipilosus replaced extinct Baiera and Sphenobaiera(Krassilov, 1973). The swamp plant communities
were represented by mainly gleicheniaceous
ferns, mosses, and lycopsids, and to a lesser extent by Pinaceae, Ginkgoales, and Cyatheaceae.
The megafossil flora of the Chemchukin
Formation is characterised by an increase in taxonomic diversity while ginkgoaleans remain as
dominant components. The czekanowskialeans
Hartzia angusta Krassil. and Phoenicopsis sp. appear. This flora has ever-increasing abundanceof cycadophytes suggesting a thermophilic feature of vegetation (Krassilov, 1973). In the
Chemchukin megaflora, Athrotaxopsis expansa(Taxodiaceae) appears. This plant is a typicaltaxon of the Barremian–Albian floras of Southern Primorye. The introduction of this representative of the more southern floras in the plantcommunities of Bureya Basin may indicate
warming, as well as the creation of conditions
for the floristic exchanges between these regions.
The predominance of Gleicheniaceae in palynological spectra may also indicate a climatic optimum.
The composition of swamp communities
during the time of deposition of the Chemchukin Formation has changed drastically. They
were dominated by Gleicheniaceae along with
Cyatheaceae, followed by Taxodiaceae andplants produced Ginkgocycadophytus pollen. In
moister environments, ferns and cycadophytesremain as ground cover beneath a canopy oftaxodiaceous trees. The Cyatheaceae lost its
leading role in lowland plant communities; itappears that these ferns shifted to the peripheryof swamps.
Coeval floras of Partizansk and Razdolnaya
River basins of Southern Primorye formed under different conditions: the former existed inenvironments of the coastal lowlands and influence of the sea, the latter – mainly in environments of intracontinental basin.
The Barremian megafossil flora of Partizansk Basin is dominated by Taxodiaceae andSchizaeaceae. The Polypodiaceae and cycads
played an important role in plant communities(Krassilov, 1967). The Aptian plant communities
here were dominated by Taxodiaceae and Gleicheniaceae, while Pinaceae, Miroviaceae, Ginkgoales and bennettites appeared as minor
ground cover components. During the Albian,Taxodiaceae retains its dominating status in theplant communities, polypodiaceous ferns returned to the status of dominant. The vegetation
becomes more diverse (new species of ferns andconifers, as well as the first angiosperms haveappeared).
The Barremian flora of Razdolnaya River
Basin is characterised by an increase in fern diversity and dominance of Schizaeaceae. The Cyatheaceae and Pteridaceae played a great role inplant communities. Among gymnosperms the
Pinaceae, Miroviaceae and cycadophytes dominate. The Aptian plant communities are very diverse. On the foothills or near the watershed,
they were dominated by pinaceous and podocarpaceous, and to a lesser extent by taxodiaceous conifers. Cyatheaceous, dicksoniaceousand gleicheniaceous ferns are abundant. The
lowland plant communities located in the central part of this basin were dominated by gleicheniaceous and cyatheaceous ferns; followedby dicksoniaceous ferns and plants produced
pollen Ginkgocycadophytus. Minor components ofthese communities were Taxodiaceae, Bryophyta, Lycophyta, other groups of ferns, Araucariaceae, Cheirolepidiaceae, and Erdtmanithecaceae. The bisaccate pollen which was
produced by Pinaceae, Podocarpaceae and Caytoniaceae is absent in the spectra. Angiosperms
appear in this flora.
31

The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016

During the mid-Cretaceous, the wetland
ecosystems with their specific vegetation widespread on the eastern margin of the Asian continent. Living in similar habitats, swamp vegetation had similar features, such as the dominanceof ferns, conifers and plants produced Ginkgocycadophytus (Ginkgoales, Czekanowskiales, Cycadales, and Bennettitales). However, there aredifferences. The taxonomical composition ofplant communities existed at high latitudes wasdepleted, whereas more southern swamp vegetation was characterised by ever-increasing
plant diversity. Among ferns the role of Gleicheniaceae increased to the south; it is possiblethat this was due to the nature of these lightloving ferns. Cycadophytes have similar distribution, though perhaps it was related to thetemperature factor. Near-polar environments
formed under conditions of the mid-Cretaceous
pronounced global warmth and the absence ofcold winters. Winter dormancy plants lasted forno more than four and a half months and werelargely controlled by light rather than temperature (Spicer et al., 2002). On the contrary,
Czekanowskiales and Podozamitaceae typical ofseasonal climate disappeared in the plant communities from north to south.
Thus, the maximum spread of the marshes
and the peak of a peat-accumulation in them on
the eastern margin of Asia occurred in

Barremian–Aptian–Early Albian, the time ofclimatic optimum and the Oceanic Anoxic Event 1(OAE 1). Obviously, these events were closely
linked: transgression of the sea, flooding andwaterlogging of vast areas, the emission of large
amounts of greenhouse gases (mainly water vapour, methane and carbon dioxide; the release of
the latter could be result of the volcanic eruptions what the occurrences of tuffaceous interlayers in the coal-bearing deposits testify) contributed to warming of climate, an increase of
biodiversity and ecosystem productivity. The
Barremian–Early Albian peat-formation with thepeak in the Aptian was widely manifested inother parts of Asia and North America (Krassilov, 1985).
Acknowledgements
Our research was supported by the RussianFoundation for Basic Research (grant no. 16-04-01411)
and the grant of the President of the Russian Federation for state support of young Russian candidates ofsciences (project no. MK-2993.2015.4). The authors are
grateful to the late Prof. V. Krassilov, V. Podolyan,
V. Golozubov, V. Nechaev, E. Korochkin, K. Gavrilov,
E. Zubkov, T. and V. Shishikin, N. Domra and
S. Alexeev for fruitful discussions, advices and help.
We are indebted to corresponding member of RAS
B. Shurygin and Prof. Hisao Ando for support of ourparticipation in the 4th International Symposium of
IGCP608.

References
Filippova, G.G., 1975. Flora of the Lower Cretaceous
deposits of the Umkuveem and Ainakhkurgen
Depressions, in: Materials on Geology and Mineral Resources of the North-East USSR 22.
Magadanskoe knizhnoe izdatelstvo, Magadan,
pp. 23–35 (in Russian).
Krassilov, V.A., 1967. Early Cretaceous flora of Southern Primorye and its stratigraphic significance.
Nauka, Moscow (in Russian).
Krassilov, V.A., 1972. Mesozoic flora of the Bureya
River (Ginkgoales and Czekanowskiales). Nauka, Moscow (in Russian).
Krassilov, V.A., 1973. Materials on stratigraphy andpalaeofloristics of coal-bearing deposits in the Bureya Basin, in: Krassilov, V.A. (Ed.), Fossil floras
and phytostratigraphy in the Far East. DVNTs AN
SSSR, Vladivostok, pp. 28–51 (in Russian).

32

Krassilov, V.A., 1985. The Cretaceous Period: Evolution of the Earth’s Crust and Biosphere. Nauka,
Moscow (in Russian).
Markevich, V.S., Bugdaeva, E.V., 2014. Late Jurassic–
Early Cretaceous coal-forming plants of the Bureya Basin, Russian Far East. Stratigr. Geol. Correl. 22 (3), 239–255.
Spicer, R.A., Ahlberg, A., Herman, A.B., Kelley, S.P.,
Raikevich, M.I., Rees, P.M., 2002. Palaeoenvironment and ecology of the middle Cretaceous
Grebenka flora of northeastern Asia. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 184, 65–105.
Vachrameev, V.A., Doludenko, M.P., 1961. The Late
Jurassic and Early Cretaceous flora of the Bureya
Basin and its stratigraphic significance. AN
SSSR, Moscow (in Russian).

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western PacificUpper Cretaceous palynology (spores, pollen and dinoflagellate cysts) of
the Yakovlevskaya-2 borehole, Ust-Yenisei region
I.V. Smokotina
JSC “SIBIRSKOE PGO”, Berezin str. 3D, Krasnoyarsk 660020, Russia; e-mail: Smokotina@list.ru

Palynological studies of the Upper Cretaceous sediments in the section of Yakovlevskaya-2 borehole located in the Yakovlev
River Basin in the north of Ust-Yenisei region ofnorthern Siberia (Fig. 1) permit the biostratigraphic subdivision of the sediments for definition of age, boundaries of formations and for reconstruction of paleogeography. The present
report is based on a study of core materials containing a varied and highly rich coastal and marine microflora. Spores, pollen and dinoflagellates have been identified. The diverse
taxonomic composition and stratigraphic distribution of microphytofossils are analyzed. Fivepalynological assemblages are revealed here in
the Upper Cretaceous on the basis of their comparison with standard assemblages characterizing a zonal palynostratigraphic scale of northern
Siberia (Bochkarev, 1981; Bondarenko, 2001; Gurari, 2004; Nikitenko et al., 2013). By means of
the cores a very rich microflora (spores of ferns
and mosses, pollen of gymnosperms and angiosperms, and algae) could be collected from various stratigraphic levels. Studied palynologicalassemblages indicate the following stratigraphic
units: Cenomanian (820.0–890.0 m depth), Upper Turonian–Coniacian (270.0–280.0 m depth),
Santonian–Campanian (190.0–270.0 m depth),
Upper Campanian–Maastrichtian (150.0–190.0 m
depth), and Upper Maastrichtian (70.0–130.0 m
depth) (Fig. 2).
Cenomanian. Abundant spores (up to
59.2%); the subdominant: dinoflagellates (up to
16.6%), Cyathidites spp. (up to 12.9%), Ginkgocycadophytus (10.0%), Leiotriletes spp. (up to 19.5%),
and Disaccites (up to 10.8%); many Polypodisporites sp. (6.7%). Related: Foveosporites cenomanicus (Chl.) Schvez., Stenozonotriletes sp., Lycopodiumsporites marginatus Singh., Sphagnum spp.
(up to 4.7%), Appendicisporites macrohysus(Bolch.) Pot., Balmeisporites glenelgensis Cook. etDett., pollen Taxodiaceae, Cedrus spp., Pinuspollenites minimus (Coup.) Kemp., Tetraporina sp.,single Lycopodiumsporites spp., Dicksoniaceae,
Marattisporites sp., Auritulina sp., Salviniaceae,

Densoisporites microrugulatus Brenner., D. velatus
Weyl. et Krieg., Kuylisporites lunaris Cook. etDett., Aequatriradites verrucosus Cook. et Dett.,
Camptotriletes ambigens Fradk., Osmundacidites
spp., Selaginella spр., Gleicheniidites senonicus
Ross., Appendicisporites spp. (A. tricostatus Bolch.,
A. exilioides (Mal.) Bolch., etc.), Cicatricosisporites
dorogensis R. Pot. et Gell., Lygodiumsporites subsimplex Bolch., L. asper Bolch., Trilobosporites mirabilis Bolch., Klukisporites pseudoreticulatus
Coup., Leptolepidites major Coup., Foraminisporites asymmetricus (Cook. et Det.) Det.,
Rouseisporites reticulatus Poc., Cycadopites dilucidus (Bolch.) Il., Araucariacites pexus Sach. et
Kosenk., Podocarpidites sрp., Pseudopicea sp.,
Picea complanatiformis Bolch., Piceapollenites variabiliformis (Bolch.) Petr., Sciadopityspollenites multiverrucosus Sach. et Il., Classopollis, Alisporites
sp., A. similis (Balme) Dett., Phyllocladidites spp.,
typical Pteris cretacea Chlon., Ruminatisporites sp.
(0.3%), Taurocusporites reduncus (Bolch.) Stov.,
and Pinus aralica Bolch., dinocysts Chlamidophorella nеyei Cook. et Eis., Chlonoviella agapica Leb.,
Chatangiella spр., Amphydiadema sp., and Oligospheridium sp., prasinophyte Leiospheridia spp.,
and algae Ovoidites sp.

Fig. 1. The location of the Yakovlevskaya-2 borehole
in Ust-Yenisei region.
33

The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 201634

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western PacificUpper Turonian–Coniacian. Abundant
spores (46.1%); the subdominant: dinoflagellates(16%). Related: Pilasporites marcidus Balme, Polypodisporites sp., Sphagnum spp., Lycopodiumsporites spp., Leiotriletes spp., Cyathidites spp.,
Foveosporites cenomanicus, Pteridaceae, Dictyophyllidites sp., Clathropteris obovata, Densoisporites
spp., Pteris cretacea, Kuylisporites lunaris,
Aequatriradites spinulosus Cook. et Dett., Osmundacidites spp., Gleicheniidites spp., Appendicisporites spp., Cicatricosisporites spp., Lygodiumsporites spp., Klukisporites variegates Coup.,
Stenozonotriletes divulgatus Chlon., Rouseisporites
reticulatus, Taurocusporites reduncus (Bolch.)
Stov., pollen Ginkgocycadophytus, Glyptostrobussp., Taxodiaceae, Cedrus spp., Araucariacites pexus, Podocarpidites spp., Pseudopicea sp., Piceapollenites spp., Pinus aralica, Sciadopityspollenites
multiverrucosus, Classopollis, Alisporites sp., andPhyllocladidites spp., typical dinocysts Chlamidophorella nyei Cook. et Eis., and Chatangiellaspp., Angiosperms (5.7%): Proteacidites sp., Ilexsp., Corylopsis sp., Ericaceae, Inaperturepollenites
sp., and Gotanipollis sp.
Santonian–Campanian. Abundant spores(up to 56.2%); the subdominant: dinocysts (up to
17.3%); many Polypodisporites sp. (up to 6.0%),
Leiotriletes spр., Gleicheniidites laeta Bolch. (up to6.0%), G. senonicus Ross. (up to 6.0%), Disaccites(up to 5.2%), Phyllocladidites spp. Related:
Clavifera rudius Bolch., Pilasporites marcidus Balme, Sphagnum spp., Stereisporites psilatus (Ross.)
Pfl., S. regium Drozh., Lycopodiumsporites spp.,
Cyathidites spp., Ruminatisporites sp. (0.2%), Stenozonotriletes radiatus Chlon., Foveosporites cenomanicus, Pteridaceae, Dictyophyllidites sp., Dipteridaceae, Clathropteris obovate var. magna Tur.Ket., Obtusisporites junctus (K.-M.) Pocock., Tripartina variabilis Mal., Concavisporites juriensis
Balme, Densoisporites velatus, Camptotriletes ambigens, Osmundacidites spp., Appendicisporites spp.,
Cicatricosisporites spp., Lygodiumsporites spp.,
Stenozonotriletes divulgatus, Leptolepidites spp.,
Foraminisporites
daijli,F. asymmetricus,
Rouseisporites reticulatus Poc., Ginkgocycadophytus, Cycadopites dilucidus, Glyptostrobus, Taxodiaceae, Cedrus spp. (4.2%), Araucariacites pexus,
Podocarpidites spp., Quadraecullina limbata Mal.,
Pinuspollenites spp., P. aralica Bolch., Sciadopit-

yspollenites
multiverrucosus,
Classopollis,
Alisporites sp., Eucommiidites troedssonii Erdtm.,
Callialasporites sp., and Vitreisporites spp. Typicalangiosperms: Triprojectus sp., Gnetaceapollenites
sp., Ilexs sp., Pterocarya sp., Platanus sp., Myricasp., Corylopsis sp., Ericaceae, Gothanipollis sp.,
Tricolpites sp., Hamamelidaceae, Rhamnus glabra
Bolch., and Inaperturepollenites sp.; dinocysts:
Chatangiella granulifera (Manum) Len. et Wil.,
C. victoriens (Cook. et Man.) Len. et Wil.,
C. bondarenkoi (Voz.) Len. et Wil., C. niiga Voz.,
C. chetensis (Voz.) Len. et Wil., Isabeledinium spр.,Spinidinium sp., Altertia sp., A. daveyi (Stover et
Evitt) Lentin et Williams, ?Deflandria magna
Davey., and cf. Kallsphaeridium circulare (Cookson et Eisenack) Helby; microphytofossils: Pterospermella sp., cf. Veryhachius reductus, Botrioccocus sp., Aletes striatus, and Ovoidites sp.
Upper Campanian–Maastrichtian. Abundant spores (up to 54.6%), the subdominant: dinocysts (up to 16.1%); many Polypodisporites sp.
(up to 9.4%), Leiotriletes sрр. (up to 7.2%), Gleicheniidites senonicus (up to 6.5%), Phyllocladidites
spp., Piceapollenites sp., Chatangiella spp. (6.5%),
Gothanipollis sp. (up to 7.2%). Related: Pilasporites marcidus, Sphagnum spр., Cyathidites
spp., Foveosporites cenomanicus, Concavisporites
juriensis, Hymenozonotriletes bicycla (Mal.) Sach.
ex Fradk., Salviniaceae, Densoisporites velatus,
Camptotriletes sрр., Gleicheniidites spр., Appendicisporites sрp., Cicatricosisporites spp., Lygodiumsporites spp., Stenozonotriletes divulgatus,
Foraminisporites daijli, Rouseisporites reticulatus,
Taurocusporites reduncus, pollen Ginkgocycadophytus, Glyptostrobus, Taxodiaceae, Sequoia sp.,
Cedrus spр., Podocarpidites spр., Piceapollenites
spp., Abies sp., Pinuspollenites spр., Sciadopityspollenites
multiverrucosus,
Classopollis,
Alisporites sрp., Eucommiidites troedssonii, Piceites
sp., Vitreisporites pallidus (Reis.) Nils., and Disaccites. Typical angiosperms: Gnetaceapollenites sp.,
Ilex sp., Quercus sp., Myrica sp., Ericaceae, Tricolpites sp., Aquilapollenites sp., and Tetraporina sp.;dinocysts: Chlonoviella agapica, Isabilidinium spp.,
Spinidinium echinoideum (Cook.et Eis.) Lentin etWil., Alterbidinium acutulum (Wilson) Lentin, Deconodinium sрp., ?Deflandria magna, and Frameasp.; prasinophyte Pterospermella sp.

Fig. 2. The subdivision of the Cretaceous deposits in the Yakovlevskaya-2 borehole based on palynological data.
35

The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016

Upper Maastrichtian. Abundant spores (upto 55.5%); the subdominant: dinocysts (up to
15,8%); many Laevigataesporites ovatus (up to9.4%), Leiotriletes spр., Gleicheniidites senonicus,
Piceapollenites sp., Phyllocladidites spp. Related:
Sphagnum sрp., Lycopodiumsporites sрp., Cyathidites sрp., Foveosporites cenomanicus, Pteridaceae, Auritulina sp., Camptotriletes ambigens, Osmundacidites sp., Selaginella sрp., Gleicheniidites
spр., Appendicisporites sp., Cicatricosisporites sp.,
Lygodiumsporites spр., Rouseisporites reticulatus,
Ginkgocycadophytus, Taxodiaceae, Cedrus sрp.,
Araucariacites pexus, Podocarpidites sрp., Abies sp.,
Sciadopityspollenites multiverrucosus, Alisporitessрp., Vitreisporites pallidus, and Disaccites. Typical angiosperms: Aquilapollenites sp., Triprojectussp., Platanus sp., Ericaceae, Gothanipollis sp.,
Hamamelidaceae,
Kryshtofoviana
jacutense
Samoil., and Tetraporina sp.; dinocysts: Membranosphaerama astrichtica Samoil., Chatangiellasрp., Amphydiadema sp., Spinidinium ornatum(May) Lentin et Williams, Alterbidinium acutulum, and Laciniadinium arcticum (Manum) Lentin
et Williams; green algae Palambages sp.
Analysis of abundant palyonological data
revealed a high share of various species of dinocysts that indicates a marine condition of accumulation of the Late Cretaceous sediments.

References
Bochkarev, V.S. (Ed.), 1981. Regional stratigraphic
charts of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic sedimentsof the West Siberian Plain. ZapSibNIGNI, Tyumen’ (in Russian).
Bondarenko, N.M., 2001. Early Cretaceous spores of
Schizeaceae ferns in the core of Yakovlevskaya 1P borehole (the north part of Ust-Yenisei region),in: Biostratigraphy of Mesozoic and Cenozoic insome regions of the Arctic and the oceans. VNIIOceangeologia, St. Petersburg, pp. 34–52 (in Russian).
Gurari, F.G. (Ed.), 2004. A decision of the 6th Interdepartmental stratigraphic meeting on consideration and arrival of the improved stratigraphic

36

scales of the Mesozoic deposits of West Siberia.
SNIIGGiMS, Novosibirsk (in Russian).
Ilyina, V.I., Kul’kova, I.A., Lebedeva, N.K., 1994. Microphytofossils and detail stratigraphy of marine
Mesozoic and Cenozoic of Siberia. UIGGM SB
RAS, Novosibirsk (in Russian).
Nikitenko, B.L., Shurygin, B.N., Knyazev, V.G.,
Meledina, S.V., Dzyuba, O.S., Lebedeva, N.K.,
Peshchevitskaya,
E.B.,
Glinskikh,
L.A.,
Goryacheva, A.A., Khafaeva, S.N., 2013. Jurassic
and Cretaceous stratigraphy of the Anabar area
(Arctic Siberia, Laptev Sea coast) and the Boreal
zonal standard. Russian Geology and Geophysics 54, 808–837.

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western Pacific

Conifer fossils from the Lower Cretaceous of Inner Mongolia, North China and theirgeologic significance
B.N. Sun, X.H. Xu, D.F. Yan and P.H. Jin
School of Earth Sciences, Lanzhou University, South Tianshui Road 222, Lanzhou 730000, China; e-mail: bnsun@lzu.edu.cn

Some conifer fossils collected from theLower Cretaceous of the Huolinhe and Guyang
Basins (Inner Mongolia, North China) are described. These fossils are three Schizolepis species, S. longipetiolus Xu X.H. et Sun B.N., S. cf.
heilongjiangensis
Zheng
et
Zhang
and
S. neimengensis Deng, and one Taxus species,
T. guyangensis Xu X.H et Sun B.N.
Schizolepis longipetiolus is a well-preserved
female cone, slender and cylindrical in shape.
The seed-scale complexes have long petioles andare arranged on the cone axis loosely and helically. The seed scales are divided into two lobes
from the base. The seed is borne on the adaxial
surface at the base or middle of each lobe.
Schizolepis was established in 1847. Althoughmore than twenty species have been discovered
and reported, its phylogenetic position is controversial because of the imperfection of fossils.
The present result indicates that the genus probably has a distant evolutionary relationship withextant Pinaceae. In the Early Cretaceous most
species existed in China’s three northeastern
provinces and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous
Region and adjacent areas. Combining the
paleogeographic distribution of the genus withancient climatic factors, authors deduced that
Schizolepis began to decline and became extinct
in the Early Cretaceous, and the reason for its
extinction is closely related to the icehouse climate during the Early Cretaceous.
Taxus guyangensis Xu X.H et Sun B.N is described from the Lower Cretaceous of Guyang

Basin, Inner Mongolia, northern China, based on
an excellently preserved leafy branch with attached leaves and seed-bearing structures. Threeovules can be found on the leafy branch. It is thefirst fossil record of Taxus in Guyang Basin, China. The species has been compared with living
and other previously published fossil species ofTaxus. The present fossil evidence also appears
to suggest that the multi-ovulate shoots of extant
Taxus are probably not the result of plant evolution or the gene mutation. Otherwise, a warmand humid climate is indicated in the Guyang
Basin during the late Early Cretaceous on thebasis of the fossil remains and lithology. Furthermore, majority living Taxus species are distributed in tropical-subtropical regions of theNorthern Hemisphere, and the leaf cuticle ofT. guyangensis is too thin to separate that maybe
suggest a moist environment.
Acknowledgments
This research is supported by the National
Basic Research Program of China (973 Program)(no. 2012CB822003), the Specialized Research Fundfor the Doctoral Program of Higher Education(no. 20120211110022), the National Natural Science
Foundation of China (no. 41172022) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(no. lzujbky-2015-201).
Keywords
Schizolepis, Taxus, Early Cretaceous, paleoclimatic signiﬁcance, China.

References
Bobrov, A.V.F.Ch., Melkian, A.P., Mikhail, S., Romanov, S., Sorokin, A.N., 2004. Seed morphology
and anatomy of Austrotaxus spicata (Taxaceae)
and its systematic position. Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 145,
437–443.
Chang, S.C., Zhang, H.C., Renne, P.R., Fang, Y., 2009.
High-precision 40Ar/39Ar age for the Jehol biota.
Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 280, 90–
104.

Deforce, K., Bastiaens, J., 2007. The Holocene historyof Taxus baccata (Yew) in Belgium and neighbouring regions. Belg. J. Bot. 140 (2), 222–237.
Hao, D.C., Xiao, P.G., Huang, B.L., Ge, G.B., Yang, L.,
2008a. Interspeciﬁc relationships and origins of
Taxaceae and Cephalotaxaceae revealed by partitioned Bayesian analyses of chloroplast and nuclear DNA sequences. Plant Syst. Evol. 276, 89–
104.
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The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016
Hao, D.C., Huang, B.L., Yang, L., 2008b. Phylogenetic
relationships of the genus Taxus inferred fromchloroplast intergenic spacer and nuclear coding
DNA. Biol. Pharm. Bull. 31(2), 260–265.
Kusuhashi, N., Hu, Y.M., Wang, Y.Q., Hirasawa, S.,
Matsuoka, H., 2009a. New triconodontids(Mammalia) from the Lower Cretaceous Shahai
and Fuxin formations, northeastern China. Geobios 42, 765–781.
Kusuhashi, N., Hu, Y.M., Wang, Y.Q., Setoguchi, T.,
Matsuoka, H., 2009b. Two eobaatarid (Multitu-

38

berculata; Mammalia) genera from the Lower
Cretaceous Shahai and Fuxin formations,
northeastern China. J. Vert. Paleontol. 29, 1264–
1288.
Zhang, J., D'Rozario, A., Yao, J., Wu, Z., Wang L., 2011.
A new species of the extinct genus Schizolepis
from the Jurassic Daohugou Flora, Innner Mengolia, China with special reference to the fossil
diversity and evolutionary implications. Acta
Geol. Sin., Engl. Ed. 85(2), 471–481.

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western PacificFirst flowering plants in Primorye region (Russia)
E.B. Volynets1, E.V. Bugdaeva1, V.S. Markevich1 and T.A. Kovaleva1,2,3
1Institute of Biology and Soil Science, Far Eastern Branch of RAS, pr. 100-letiya 159, Vladivostok 690022, Russia; e-mail: volynets61@mail.ru
2Research Center of Paleontology & Stratigraphy, Jilin University, Changchun 130026, China
3Key Lab of Past Life & Environment in NE Asia, MOE, Changchun 130026, China

The interaction between biotic and abiotic
processes during the Cretaceous was best pronounced in Primorye region located at theboundary of temperate and subtropical zones.
The mid-Cretaceous deposits here are widelydistributed in the Alchan River, Partizansk andRazdolnaya River basins. Their sedimentary sequences were formed under different conditions. In the eastern part of this area, since theAptian time the largest sea transgression began.
Marine biota was of the Tethyan type. In NorthWest Pacific region, the first Ocean Anoxic
Event (OAE1), which was recorded both in theocean and epicontinental basins, occurred in the
Aptian–Albian time. The beginning of the Albian was marked by maximum transgression. The
predominant biota of epicontinental basins was
represented by bivalves (Aucella and Inoceramus)
and ammonites typical of North-Pacific Province. The sediments of Alchan River, Partizansk
and southern part of Razdolnaya River basinsaccumulated under influence of sea; the northern part of the latter was developed as intracontinental basin.
Any variation in deposition and climaticconditions resulted in abrupt changes in the taxonomic composition of fossil floras. The Aptian
fossil flora of the Primorye region was characterized by high diversity, considerable share ofthermophilic elements, and maximum values ofcycadophyte index suggesting obvious trend toincrease in temperature. Since the Early Albian a
volcanic activity within this region gradually increased, being maximum in the mid-early Late
Albian. At this time, the sea regression and expansion of continental environments were recorded. The vegetation typical of humid climate
deteriorated. The diversity of terrestrial floras
decreased; the number of thermophilic elements
dropped, and values of cycadophyte index reduced. Intensification in a volcanic activity
caused the formation of specific floras. The Late

Albian flora was taxonomically most diverse including subtropical elements. At the Early–Late
Cretaceous boundary, the significant geologicalevents (a lull in volcanic activity of the SikhoteAlin volcanic belt, a change in nature of sedimentation) and climatic changes (climate became warmer and more humid) occurred.
The events that occurred in both marine
and continental ecosystems are believed to besynchronous and are considered as reflecting
climatic evolution and tectogenesis.
Flowering plants in the geological record of
Primorye region first appeared in the Aptian of
the Razdolnaya River Basin. The angiosperm
remains are almost entirely restricted to sandstone or sandy beds with cross-bedding or crosslamination, or light-gray mudstone beds representing weathered volcanic ash. In contrast, only
conifer, cycadophyte and fern remains are foundin equivalent finer-grained, parallel-bedded
units. It is possible to recover their remains from
tuffaceous mudstone, because that ash fall covered all area of basin. The environmental interpretation of these deposits can evidence about
the early angiosperm ecology. These plants apparently colonized disturbed surfaces of theland such as riparian settings or place of accumulations of fallen volcanic ash.
Most recently, we have found new remainsof the flowering plants in the Late Aptian (probably, Late Aptian–Early Albian) deposits in the
Razdolnaya River Basin, belonging to the Lipovtsy Formation (Bugdaeva et al., 2014; Kovaleva
et al., 2016). The earliest angiosperms of Primorye region are represented by leaves of Dicotylophyllum sp. (Podgorodnenka coal field – Sokol
Bay, nearly Vladivostok City) and by dispersed
cuticle of indeterminable platanoids (Porechyecoal mine and nearly Dongning City, China).
The extremely rare Aptian angiosperm leaves
are generally small, have disorganized venation,
and are largely restricted to sandy and coaly
stream margin lithofacies.
39

The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016

Throughout the Aptian and probably Lower
Albian corresponding to the Lipovtsy Formation,
palynoflora consists almost entirely of pteridophyte spores and gymnosperm pollen. In otherlocalities of the Lipovtsy Formation, such as
Porechye mine and outcrop nearly Dongning
City, the Dongning Formation, the Chinese partof the Razdolnaya River Basin, the upper part of
the Staryi Sutschan Formation of the Partizansk
Coal Basin, tricolpate, tricolporoidate, and monosulcate pollen grains of recognizably angiospermous affinities occur. The earliest angiosperm
pollen is represented by Clavatipollenites hughesii
Coup., Tricolpites micromunus (Groot. et Penny)Singh, T. vulgaris (Pierce) Sriv., T. variabilis Burg.,
Tricolpites spp., Quercites sparsus (Mart.) Samoil.,
Retitricolpites vulgaris Pierce, R. georgiensis Brenn.,and Fraxiniopollenites variabilis Stanl. in Razdolnaya River Basin. Asteropollis asteroides Hedl et Norris and Cyclusphaera psilata Volkh. et Sepul. were
found in Partizansk Coal Basin.
It may be noted that there is co-occurrenceof the above-mentioned morphotypes, although
in the Potomac Group of North America monosulcates appear earlier and were described asolder pollen types (Hickey and Doyle, 1977).
They include small, finely columellar grains
with granular sulcus membranes (Clavatipollenites hughesii).
We did not reveal megafossils of flowering
plants in the Aptian of the Alchan River andPartizansk basins. The sediments of this age accumulated in environments of seaside plains
under marine influence.
During the Albian, the thermophilic bennettitaleans lose their importance and vacate ecological niches in the brushwood and under acanopy of coniferous forests; these niches wereactively colonized by angiosperms. The Albian
palynofloras in the Alchan and Partizansk Riverbasins contain rapidly diversifying tricolpate
pollen and several new assemblages of locallyabundant angiosperm leaves.
In the Cenomanian the flowering plants
dominate in the plant communities ofRazdolnaya River, Alchan River, and Partizansk
River basins. Aquatic plants Potamogeton,
Quereuxia, and Cobbania appeared in the Alchan
River Basin.
The first morphotypes of dicot leaves were
Laurifolia and Rosifolia. Ranunculifolia and40

Platanifolia were added to them in the Albian.
Morphotype Nymphaefolia appears in the
Cenomanian, the importance of Platanifolia increases (Volynets, 2005).
There is an opinion that the early flowering
plants were “weeds”. This fact was supported
by findings of angiosperms in the Partizansk(Krassilov and Volynets, 2008) and Alchan River(Bugdaeva et al., 2006; Volynets, 2005) basins.
V.A. Krassilov and E.B. Volynets (2008) described a new plants Achaenocarpites capitellatus
and Ternaricarpites floribundus (morphotype Ranunculifolia) from the Late Albian of Primorye.
These plants composed the pioneer communities
colonizing a surface of volcanic ash.
An important aspect of our study has been
an attempt to draw inferences on the paleoecology of early angiosperms from the types of sediment in which their remains are preserved.
Depositional settings for sedimentary sequences
containing the first flowering plants included
river valleys and area after volcanic ash falls.
The appearance, invasion and wide spread ofthese plants in the plant communities took place
during the deterioration of climatic and environmental conditions.
Morphological, stratigraphic, and sedimentological analyses of the Early Cretaceous pollen
and leaf sequences from Alchan River, Partizansk and Razdolnaya River basins of Primorye
region show an approximate scheme of theadaptive radiation of the early angiosperms andsuggest the ways of their initial ecological andsystematic diversification.
Acknowledgements
This work was partly supported by the grant of
the President of the Russian Federation for state support of young Russian candidates of sciences (project
no. MK-2993.2015.4), the Russian Foundation for
Basic Research (grant no. 16-04-01411), the Project 111
of China and the Project 2015FY310100-15 of the MST,
China. The authors are grateful to the late
V.A. Krassilov (Haifa University, Israel), N.P. Domra
and N.N. Naryshkina (Institute of Biology and Soil
Science, Far East Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences), V.V. Golozubov, V.P. Nechaev (Far East Geological Institute, Far East Branch, Russian Academy of
Sciences). Special thanks to Chinese colleagues Prof.
G. Sun, F. Liang, C.T. Li, F. Chen, P. Yu, Y.G. Yangand Y. Xu from Jilin and Shenyang Normal Universities, and S.L. Hai (Geological Museum of Hei-

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western Pacificlongjiang, China) who helped to collect paleobotanical material nearly Dongning City. The authors thankleaders of IGCP608, corresponding member of RAS

B. Shurygin and Prof. Hisao Ando for support of ourparticipation in the 4th International Symposium of
IGCP608.

References
Bugdaeva, E.V., Markevich, V.S., Volynets, E.B., Kovaleva, T.A., Nechaev, V.P., 2014. The Early Cretaceous coal-forming plants from the Razdolnaya
Basin (Southern Primorye), in: Baraboshkin, E.Yu.,
et al. (Eds.), Cretaceous System of Russia and thenear abroad: problems of stratigraphy and paleogeography. Proc. Seventh Russian scientific conference with international participation. Dalnauka, Vladivostok, pp. 70–71 (in Russian).
Bugdaeva, E.V., Volynets, E.B., Golozubov, V.V.,
Markevich, V.S., Amelchenko, G.L., 2006. Floraand geological events of the mid-Cretaceoustime (Alchan River Basin, Primorye). Dalnauka,
Vladivostok.

Hickey, L.J., Doyle, J.A., 1977. Early Cretaceous fossil
evidence for angiosperm evolution. Bot. Rev.
43(1), 3–104.
Kovaleva, T.A., Markevich, V.S., Bugdaeva, E.V., Volynets, E.B., Afonin, M.A., 2016. New data on
palynostratigraphy of the Lipovtsy Formation in
the Razdol’naya Coal Basin (Southern Primorye).
Russ. J. Pac. Geol. 10(1), 50–62.
Krassilov, V.A., Volynets, E.B., 2008. Weedy Albian
angiosperms. Acta Palaeobotanica 48(2), 151–169.
Volynets, E.B., 2005. The Aptian–Cenomanian Flora of
Primorye, Part 1: Floral Assemblages. Stratigr.
Geol. Correl. 13(5), 613–631.

41

The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016

Session 2
Cretaceous paleogeography and paleobiogeography

Late Cretaceous paleobiogeography of peninsular India: An overview of constraints
from fossil tetrapods
S. Bajpai
Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Lucknow 226007, India; e-mail: director@bsip.res.in

A Late Cretaceous phase of the geodynamic
history of the peninsular India is marked by two
major tectonic events, the break-up of IndiaSeychelles block from Madagascar at ~88 Ma
and the Deccan flood basalt volcanism and separation of India from Seychelles around 65 Ma.
Both dispersal and vicariance shaped the paleobiogeographic patterns in time and space during
India’s rapid northward drift in the Late Cretaceous. As the Indian plate separated from Madagascar, it became a continental island initially,
resulting in increased opportunities for allopatric speciation and biodiversity peaks.
The tetrapod record, including dinosaurs
and mammals, from horizons postdating IndoMadagascar rifting is yet to be discovered in India. However, the common presence of several
family-level taxa in India, Madagascar andSouth America during the latest Cretaceous(Maastrichtian) has opened up several hotly debated paleobiogeographic issues. Possible explanations involving filter bridges connecting
Africa, Antarctica, Indo-Madagascar, SouthAmerica at different times (Chatterjee et al.,2013) need to be reconciled with the geologicaland geophysical evidence.
A number of hypothesized ephemeral biotic
filter bridges connecting India with other
Gondwana landmasses need a serious consideration: i) the Kohistan-Ladakh–Oman Arc that allowed faunal interchanges between India andnorthern Africa during the Late Cretaceous,ii) the Laxmi Ridge–Seychelles Island thatbridged the gap between India and Madagascar,and iii) the emergent Ninetyeast Ridge–
Kerguelen Plateau–Antarctica that formed a circumpolar biotic filter bridge between India andSouth America.

References
Chatterjee, S., Goswami, A., Scotese, C.R., 2013. The
longest voyage: tectonic, magmatic, and paleoclimatic evolution of the Indian plate during its

42northward flight from Gondwana to Asia.
Gondwana Res. 23, 238–267.

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western PacificTerminal Maastrichtian–Danian marine incursion in Central India:
Myth or Reality?
S.A. Jafar1,2
1National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research, Headland Sada, Vasco-da-Gama, Goa 403804, India
2Flat 5-B, Whispering Meadows, Haralur Road, Bangalore 560102, Indiae-mail: syeda_jafar@yahoo.com

Wisdom and intellectual integrity is the
backbone of reliable knowledge built on a variety of meticulously collected empirical and testable data (Mario, 2013). It is instructive to beaware of distinct rifting events which carved theoutline of India out of the supercontinent Pangaea for understanding the possible nature of
exceptionally deep incursion of sea during theMaastrichtian–Danian.
Extensive volcanism in East Africa, Antarctica and Madagascar coupled with rifting ofMadagascar–Seychelles–India–Australia–New
Zealand–Antarctica combined continent fromcontinents of Africa–South America led to thecreation of Proto-Indian Ocean during the Early
Jurassic (ca. 185 Ma). Significant Early Cretaceous (ca. 145 Ma) rifting and subsequent
Rajmahal volcanism carved Eastern Indian
Ocean with prominent aulacogens and triple
junctions at marginal basins of Cauvery, Palar,
Krishna-Godavari and Mahanadi. India overlying solid marine crustal support, tilted eastward
causing easterly flow of rivers except Narmada
and Tapti which continue to flow today westward. It is noteworthy that during this time
Madagascar reached current position relative toAfrica and India–Madagascar separated from
Antarctica–Australia–New Zealand and none of
the lineaments permitted any deep incursion of
the sea.
As juvenile Indian Ocean continued togrow, rifting separated Australia–New Zealandfrom Antarctica (ca. 105 Ma). One of the mostdramatic plate tectonic event was the rifting
causing separation of India–Seychelles from
Madagascar, episode of sub-aerial Large Igneous Province (LIP at ca. 92 Ma), the Mahajanga
Flood Basalt of Madagascar possibly inducing
concomitant Late Turonian deep incursion of sea(>800 Km) along Narmada Valley into central
India (Jafar, 2015). Shallow seas generally inundated most continents of the world during theLate Cretaceous as the sea level rose up to 200 m
higher than today, but surprisingly, none of thelineaments on the east and west of India received any deep incursion of sea, with notableand unique exception of Narmada Valley. Creation of new rifts, record speed with which India
approached Eurasian continent coupled with local Large Igneous Province episodes led to thedeep flooding of continents by warm marine
waters. Réunion hotspot induced eruption ofmassive Deccan Flood Basalt sub-aerial Large
Igneous Province (LIP at ca. 66 Ma) during theterminal Cretaceous covering over 500.000 sq.
km area of India and attracted world attention
for exceptionally well preserved fossil fauna andflora in intertrappean lacustrine sediments
straddling Cretaceous–Palaeogene boundary.
No concrete evidence of deep sea incursion isforthcoming during this time slice either via
Narmada valley or Krishna-Godavari lineament,
except in the northern collision facing East-Westtrending Subathu-Dogadda lineament now designated as Lesser Himalaya (Jafar and Singh,
1992). After colliding with Eurasian continent(ca. 50 Ma) the northern portion of India (Greater India) started subducting giving rise to raised
Tibetan Plateau (Fig. 1).
The Tethys finally closed after displaying
last signs of marine waters in Lesser Himalaya
in the Early Miocene.
Deep incursion of sea along Narmada Valley
Contrary to the earlier assumption of someworkers (Keller et al., 2009; Keller, 2014), it isnoteworthy that during K/T transition time there
was absolutely no marine incursion as evidenced by the following observations: (1) K/Ttransition marine sediments are missing fromthe western margin of India; (2) critical evaluation of various fossil records suggests an age notolder or younger than Late Turonian for marine/estuarine sediment package in the Lower
43

The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016

Fig. 1. K/T boundary palaeogeographic map showing rapid northward and anticlockwise movement of Indian block
which received significant deep marine incursion from the East along Subathu-Dogadda lineament before colliding
with Eurasian continent in the Late Ypresian (ca. 50 Ma).

Narmada Valley, comprising of Nimar Sandstone(dinosaur bearing, fully marine) – Bagh Beds –Nodular Limestone – Coralline Limestone, in ascending order. In Upper Narmada Valley, wellknown Lameta beds of Maastrichtian age (dinosaur bearing) signify predominant deposition
under sub-aerial conditions, despite several spurious counter claims of marine origin.
Deep incursion of sea along Krishna-Godavari
ValleyK/T transition marine sediments are developed all along eastern margin of India but notably with intertrappean beds of Rajahmundry area. Based on the presence of certain fossil
mangrove / coastal elements like Nypa, Cocos
and Acrostichum etc. in several intertrappean
sections, it was postulated some 150 years agothat deep sea incursion could have occurred via
Krishna-Godavari Valley. More recently, discovery of a thin horizon (ca. 60 cm) yielding diminutive sized planktonic foraminifera of Danian age in Jhilmili intertrappean area also led torather strange speculation of the deep entry ofshort lived sea via Narmada or KrishnaGodavari valley (Keller, 2014).
Deep incursion of sea along Subathu-Dogadda
Lineament
Autochthonous Late Maastrichtian–?Danianmarine sediments based on dinoflagellates are
44

recently reported from the Kakra section(Thakur et al., 2013), but Maastrichtian–Danian
global calcareous nannofossils were detected as
tectonically sandwiched within PrecambrianKrols and frequently detected as reworked in
the Early Eocene Subathu Formation (Jafar,2013), signifying unroofing and collision event
of India against Eurasia (Late Ypresian ca.
50 Ma). Noteworthy is the complete absence ofmarine siliceous plankton and extremely scarce
Cretaceous megafossils.
So, what is the most plausible postulate?
Envisage a large ephemeral Athalassic saline Lake (Deckker, 1981) which had all geomorphic features of a miniature sea and in contrast with “brackish” waters, was notcontiguous with sea water. It would not be entirely misleading to assume that some kind ofseeding mechanism including contamination bywind and birds (Palaeocene records of birds are
known from major continents except India) prevailed and coastal / mangrove elements including ostracods and planktonic foraminifera could
be transported to “adapt” and flourish for ashort spell. Similar occurrence of varied marine
elements (Xi et al., 2011; Boonstra et al., 2015)
deep into the heart of continents is reported
from several regions but has not been interpreted without a flaw. We need a complete biotope
and sedimentary facies link up to strongly sup-Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western Pacificport full-fledged deep sea incursion like the one
seen along Narmada Valley during the Late Turonian. Also, it is absurd to assume that cata-strophic events like Deccan volcanism or Chicxulub Impact had anything to do with mass extinction at the K/T boundary (Jafar, 2014).

References
Boonstra, M., Ramos, M.I.F., Lammertsma, E.I., Antoine, P.-O., Hoorn, C., 2015. Marine connectionsof Amazonia: Evidence from foraminifera anddinoflagellate cysts (early to middle Miocene,
Colombia/Peru). Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol.
Palaeoecol. 417, 176–194.
Deckker, P.D., 1981. Ostracods of athalassic saline
lakes. Hydrobiol. 81, 131–144.
Jafar, S.A., 2013. Unfinished Symphony in Lesser
Himalaya: Calcareous nannofossils strive to fill
the gaps, in: XXIV Indian Colloq. Micropal.
Stratigr. Dehradun, India. Dehradun, pp. 39–41.
Jafar, S.A., 2014. Dynamics of Terminal Cretaceous
global biotic turnover, in: 2nd Int. Symp. IGCP608“Land-Ocean Linkages and Biotic Evolution during the Cretaceous: Contribution from Asia andWestern Pacific”, Waseda, Japan: Abstract volume. Tokyo, pp. 87–90.
Jafar, S.A., 2015. Episodes of subaerial Large Igneous
Provinces (LIPs) linked to late Turonian/Late
Maastrichtian deep incursions of Sea on Indian
continental block, in: Zhang, Y., Wu, S.Z., Sun, G.
(Eds.), Abstracts of the 12th Symposium on Mesozoic Terrestrial Ecosystems, Shenyang, China.
Shenyang, pp. 37–39.
Jafar, S.A., Singh, O.P., 1992. K/T boundary species
with early Eocene nannofossils discovered from

Subathu Formation, Shimla Himalaya, India.
Curr. Sci. 62(5), 409–413.
Keller, G., 2014. Deccan volcanism, the Chicxulub impact, and the end-Cretaceous mass extinction:
Coincidence? Cause and effect? Geol. Soc. Am.
Spec. Pap. 505, 57–89.
Keller, G., Adatte, T., Bajpai, S., Mohabey, D.M.,
Widdowson, M., Khosla, A., Sharma, R., Khosla,
S.C., Gertsch, B., Fleitmann, D., Sahni, A., 2009.
K–T transition in Deccan Traps of central India
marks major marine Seaway across India. Earth
Planet. Sci. Lett. 282, 10–23.
Mario, L., 2013. Brilliant Blunders. Simon and Schuster, New York.
Thakur, O.P., Sarkar, S., Dogra, N.N., 2013. A Late
Maastrichtian palynofloral assemblage from Nahan area of the Himachal Pradesh, India: Palaeoenvironmental and age implications. Himalayan
Geol. 34(2), 148–157.
Xi, D.P., Wan, X.Q., Feng, Z.Q., Li, S., Feng, Z.H., Jia,
J.Z., Jing, X., Si, W.M., 2011. Discovery of Late
Cretaceous foraminifera in the Songliao Basin:
Evidence from SK-1 and implications for identifying seawater incursions. Chinese Sci. Bull.
56(3), 253–256.

45

The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016

The discovery of the CORB in the Southern Tethyan Himalaya andits paleogeographic implication
G.B. Li1, Z.C. Han1,2, X.F. Li1, X.L. Niu1, T.Y. Wang1, Y. Han1, Y.J. Yao1, B.B. Lv1 and W.Y. Zhang1
1China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China; e-mail: liguobiao@cugb.edu.cn
2Shandong Geological Engineering Group Co., Ltd., Shandong Ji'nan 250200, China

The Cretaceous oceanic red beds (CORB)
are widespread in the Northern Tethyan Himalaya (NTH) but never reported in the Southern
Tethyan Himalaya (STH). In this study, red beds
(CORB, composed of 5 m thick cherry-red thinbedded marl) are firstly discovery from the Upper Cretaceous of the Jinshansibei section, Tüna,
Yadong, STH. The litho- and biostratigraphy ofupper Gambacunkou Formation and lower
Zongshan Formation (containing the CORB) of
the Jinsangsibei section were investigated. Micropaleontologic study of the strata led to thediscovery of abundant planktic foraminifers inmarl, limestone and shale. The foraminifer
preservation is mostly satisfactory, and sixtyseven species from 22 genera were identified.
These allow recognition of six planktic foraminiferal zones: ① Dicarinella concavata Zone (Kj1–
6), ② Dicarinella asymetrica Zone (Kj7–44),③ Globotruncanita elevata Zone (Kj45–60),④ Globotruncana ventricosa Zone (Kj61–108),⑤ Radotruncana calcarata Zone (Kj109–129), and⑥ Globotruncanella havanensis Zone (Kj130–134).
The planktic foraminiferal assemblage provides
a Late Cretaceous age for the Gambacunkou andZongshan formations and an early Late Campanian age for the CORB (corresponding to theupper R. calcarata Zone) in the Jinsangsibei section.
In contrast to those in NTH, the CORB in
STH is characterized by monotonous cherry-red
marl with smaller thickness and shorter age. The
discovery of the CORB in STH challenges theprevious view that the CORB in the Tethyan
Himalaya should be restricted to the NTH (slope
to basin) and entirely miss in STH (shelf). This
discovery contributes to the paleogeographic interpretation of the CORBs in southern Tibet andthe Tethyan Himalaya.
Keywords
CORB, planktic foraminifera, palaeogeography,
Late Cretaceous, Southern Tethyan Himalaya.

References
Li, G.B., Jiang, G.Q., Hu, X.M., Wan, X.Q., 2009a. New
biostratigraphic data from the Cretaceous
Bolinxiala Formationin Zanda, southwestern Tibet of China, and their paleogeographic andpaleoceanographic implications. Cretaceous Res.
30(4), 1005–1018.
Li, G.B., Xie, D., Wan, X.Q., Han, H.D., Chen, P.L.,
2009b. Discovery of Radiolaria from theZongzhuo Formation in Tianba, Kangmar and its
age implication. Acta Geol. Sin. 83(5), 853–859.
Li, G.B., Jansa, L., Wan, X.Q., Pan, M., Xiu, D., Xie, D.,2011a. Discovery of radiolaria from Upper Cretaceous Oceanic Red Beds in Daba, Kangmar andits paleogeographic implication. Palaeogeogr.
Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 312(1–2), 127–137.
Li, G.B., Jiang, G.Q., Wan, X.Q., 2011b. The age of the
Chuangde Formation in Kangmar, southern Tibet of China: Implications for the origin of Cretaceous oceanic red beds (CORBs) in the northern
Tethyan Himalaya. Sediment. Geol. 235(1–2),
111–121.
Li, G.B., Wan, X.Q., Pan, M., 2011c. Planktic foraminiferal biostratigraphy of the Cretaceous oceanic
red beds in Kangmar, Southern Tibet, China. Acta Geol. Sin. 85(6), 1238–1253.

Fig. 1. Correlation of the Gambacunkou and Zongshan formations at Jiansangsibei, Yadong (14) to late Early–Late
Cretaceous successions in (1) Itchu La, northern Zanskar (Fuchs, 1982); (3) Chikkim, Spiti (Bertle and Suttner, 2005);(4) Bolin, Zanda (Li et al., 2009a); (11) Tianba, Kangmar (Li et al., 2009a,b, 2011a,b,c); (12) Zongshan, Gamba (Wan,
1985; Wan et al., 2000; Zhao and Wan, 2003; Li et al., 2003); and (10) Jiabula, Gyangze (Zhao and Wan, 2003). Stages
and biozones: Al – Albian, Ce – Cenomanian, Tu – Turonian, Co – Coniacian, Sa – Santonian, Ca – Campanian, Ma –Maastrichtian, Tic – Ticinensis Zone, App – Appenninica Zone, Bro – Brotzeni Zone, Rei – Reicheli Zone, Cus –Cushmani Zone, Arc – Archaeocretacea Zone, Hel – Helvetica Zone, Con – Concavata Zone, Asy – Asymetrica Zone,
Ele – Elevata Zone, Ven – Ventricosa Zone, Cal – Calcarata Zone, Hav – Havanensis Zone, Aeg – Aegyptiaca Zone,
Gan – Gansseri Zone, May – Mayaroensis Zone.
46

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western Pacific47

The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016

Palaeobiogeographic implications of the late Aptian–Albian polyconitid rudist fauna
J.G. Sha1 and R. Cestari2
1State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences,

39 East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, China; e-mail: jgsha@nigpas.ac.cn
2STRATA Georesearch, c/o INGEO Dept., G. d'Annunzio University, Via dei Vestini 31, Chieti Scalo 66013, Italy

Rudists are a group of thermophilic shallow
water benthic bivalves ranging from the Late Jurassic to the end of the Maastrichtian and spanning tropical and subtropical latitudes during
the “Greenhouse” Aptian–Albian interval. They
were organic builders and sediment constituentsof neritic carbonates, and thus they are significant indicators of stratigraphy, palaeogeography
and palaeoenvironmental indicators.
The late Aptian–Albian polyconitid rudist
fauna is remarked by Horiopleura (including
H. haydeni Douvillé, H. lamberti Hébert, and
H. almerae Paquier) and Polyconites (including
P. verneuili Coquand, P. hadriani Skelton et al.,and P. africanus Tavani) that give rise to diverse
assemblages with radiolitid rudists, nerineid
gastropods, corals and benthic orbitolinid
forams. The general external morphology ofthese two taxa is marked by a low cupuloid upper valve and an umbo projected towards theexternal side in Horiopleura, while in Polyconites
the upper valve is flat. The inner features aremarked by the different development of the ectomyophoral cavity between the two valves andthe arrangement of the cardinal apparatus that ismore developed in Horiopleura (Fig. 1).
This fauna was globally distributed along
the margins of Tethys: in the Lhasa terranes, including Lameila Mt., Ngari area, Nyer Lake,
Zabuye Lake, Duba region, east of Xigaze (Tibet,
China); Kohistan-Ladakh (K-L) volcanic arc, including Yasin (Northern Pakistan), Shukur andKhalsi (Northern India); Pontides platform(Northern Turkey); Iberia; Ouenza platform(Northern Africa); Apulia; Southeast Arabia(Fig. 2); and even it extended eastwards to the
Pacific area from the Iberia region via the Himalayas (Sha and Cestari, 2016).
However, fossil assemblages with both Horiopleura and Polyconites were widely distributedin the south Tethyan margin, from southern Iberia to southeast Arabia, and in the European
north Tethyan margin (northwestern margin of48

Tethys). Assemblages are marked by the presence of Horiopleura in the Asian north Tethyan
margin (northeastern margin of Tethys) (e.g., theMega-Lhasa intra-oceanic platform) and in the
Kohistan–Ladakh (Kohistan-Dras) intra-oceanic
volcanic arc. Such different assemblages haveindicated two distinct bioprovinces: Mediterranean Province yielding Horiopleura and Polyconites assemblages and South West Asian Province remarked by the presence of Horiopleuraassemblage (or “Yasin-type” Horiopleura haydeni
fauna), without the Polyconites one.
Such rudists could have had a very highlarval productivity and thus were able to migrate along the continental margins and islands,
and drift or passively swim with the ocean currents, like the other sessile bivalves, particularly
the cemented thermophilous bivalves including
ostreids (Sha, 2003; Sha et al., 2014). The distribution pattern of polyconitid rudist fauna(Fig. 2) has implied that larvae dispersal of theLate Aptian–Albian rudists were mainly controlled by the westward Tethys Circumglobal
Current (Bush et al., 1997) and by recirculation
gyres in epicontinental seas such as in the Bangong–Nujiang. The influx of cooler boreal waters from the Russian engulfment (Fig. 2) were
probably a major factor, like a thermal barrier,separating the European North Tethyan margin
from the Asiatic North Tethyan margin, forming
different bioprovinces. The microplates forming
the Kohistan–Ladakh or Oman-Kohistan-Drasarc had separated from Indian Plate and drift into the tropic (Gibbons et al., 2015) area during
the late Aptian–Albian as they are documented
by the late Aptian–Albian neritic carbonateswith rudists.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the “Strategic Priority Research Program (B)” of the Chinese Academy of
Sciences (XDB03010101), and it is a contribution to
UNESCO-IUGS IGCP Project 632.
Keywords
Rudists, Early Cretaceous, palaeobiogeography.

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western PacificFig. 1. General shell shape and features of Horiopleura and Polyconites rudists: (a) drawing of the transverse section
showing the main features of the two valves (modified from Fig. 1 of Skelton et al., 2010); (b) Polyconites hadriani seenfrom the ventral side (after Skelton et al., 2010: Fig. 5a); (c) P. hadriani postero-ventral view (after Skelton et al., 2010:
Fig. 6i); (d) P. hadriani antero-posterior section of the valves (after Skelton et al., 2010: Fig. 5d); (e) Horiopleura haydeni
seen from the dorsal side (type no. MPUM 11381 of H. desioi emended to be H. haydeni in Sha and Cestari, 2016);(f) lower valve of H. haydeni cut near the commissure, showing the inner features; (g) transverse section of the upper
valve (L ‒ ligamentary ridge, ec ‒ ectomyophoral cavity, pm ‒ posterior myophore, am ‒ anterior myophore);(h) same specimens, upper valve seen from above (after Sha and Cestari, 2016: Fig. 5f‒h). Scale bar equals 2 cm.
49

The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016

Fig. 2. Configuration of the Tethys Ocean during Indian plate drifting (arrow). The Horiopleura assemblage is common on the northern shore of Tethys while the Polyconites and Horiopleura assemblages are common on the southernshore. The Russian engulfment could act as a thermal barrier. 1 ‒ Lhasa terranes, including Lameila Mt., Ngari area,
Nyer Lake, Zabuye Lake, Duba region, east of Xigaze (Tibet, China); 2 ‒ Kohistan–Ladakh (K–L) volcanic arc, including Yasin (Northern Pakistan), Shukur and Khalsi (Northern India); 3 ‒ Pontides platform; 4 ‒ Iberia; 5 ‒ Ouenza platform, Northern Africa; 6 ‒ Apulia; 7 ‒ South-east Arabia. KP ‒ Kerguelen Plateau; B–N ‒ Bangong-Nujiang sea (modified from Aptian base map 120 Ma, Blakey, 2010; © Ron Blakey, Colorado Plateau Geosystems) (after Sha andCestari, 2016: Fig. 10).

References
Blakey, R.C., 2010. Paleogeographic Maps. Colorado
Plateau Geosystems. AZ, Phoenix. URL:
http://cpgeosystems.com
Bush, A.B., George, S., Philander, H., 1997. The late
Cretaceous: simulation with a coupled atmosphere-ocean
generalcirculation
model.
Paleoceanogr. 12, 495–516.
Gibbons, A.D., Zahirovic, S., Müller, R.D., Whittaker,
J.M., Yatheesh, V., 2015. A tectonic model reconciling evidence for the collisions between India,
Eurasia and intra-oceanic arcs of the centraleastern Tethys. Gondwana Res. 28, 451–492.
Sha, J., 2003. Plankton and pseudoplankton of the marine Mesozoic bivalves. Acta Palaeontol. Sin. 42,
408–416 (in Chinese with English abstract).
50

Sha, J., Cestari, R., 2016. Late Aptian–Albian Yasintype rudist assemblage in the Himalayas: palaeobiogeographic implications. Cretaceous Res.
65, 34–47.
Sha, J.G., Rao, X., Cai, H.W., Pan, Y.H., Wang, Y.Q.,
2014. Pan-tropical distribution of the Jurassic ostreid bivalves. Palaeoworld 23, 155−161.
Skelton, P.W., Gili, E., Bover-Arnal, T., Salas, R.,
Moreno-Bedmar, J.A., 2010. A new species of
Polyconites from the lower Aptian of Iberia andthe early evolution of polyconitid rudists. Turkish J. Earth Sci. 19, 557‒572.

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western PacificSession 3
Cretaceous climate and environmental changes

Cretaceous paleoenvironments of the Russian Southeast
G.L. Kirillova and S.A. Medvedeva
Kosygin Institute of Tectonics and Geophysics, Far Eastern Branch of RAS, Kim Yu Chen str. 65, Khabarovsk 680000, Russia;
e-mail: kirillova@itig.as.khb.ru

Attention to the study of the Cretaceous
System does not become weaker both on global
and regional scales, since the most importantgeological events in the Earth’s history as well as
valuable mineral resources are associated withthis system. International and All-Russian meetings are held regularly (Baraboshkin et al., 2014).
New data on the southeastern Russia and adjacent territories of China, where Cretaceous rocksof different types are widespread (Fig. 1) are being published systematically (Decisions…, 1994;
Likht, 1997; Liu et al., 1997; Markevich et al.,
1997; Yarmolyuk et al., 2000; Zhang et al., 2008;
Cao et al., 2013; Didenko et al., 2014; Kirillova etal., 2015; Khanchuk et al., 2015).
The development of the Far Eastern region
during the Early Cretaceous closely follows thatof the Late Jurassic (Kirillova et al., 2000). Threetypes of basins existed there in the Early Cretaceous. The Lower Amur and Sikhote-Alin basins, located eastward, are considered the first
type and appear to be rather deep seas, in whichmostly Berrisasin–Valanginian turbidites, about
6000 m thick, with a subordinate amount ofcherty-volcanic rocks and limestones accumulated in the conditions of stable downwarping
environment. Horizons with olistostromes containing diversified Paleozoic and Mesozoic clastics are often observed near the continental
boundary. Some researchers suggest the existence of an early Cretaceous oceanic basin, thedeposits of which (jasper, cherts, mudstones) areassociated with alkaline basalts described in the
Kiselevka–Manoma terrane.
Basins located along the margin of the preJurassic continental structures (Torom, Uda, Bureya, Okrainy and South Primorye) belong to
the second type (Kirillova et al., 2015). They are

represented by epicontinental seas with richbenthos where diversified terrigenous material,
generally containing products of terrestrial volcanism, accumulated during the Berriasian to
Early Hauterivian. Here epochs of intensive
downwarping repeatedly alternated with uplifting and erosion and continental sedimentation
with coal formation. The thickness of the deposits varies from 2000 to 4000 m.
Intracontinental rift and postcollisional basins, in which continental coal-bearing 1000-mthick sediments were deposited during the Berriasian–Hauterivian interval (Cao et al., 2013),
are related to the third basin type. They are separated by low mountains (Amur-Zeya and PreDzhugdzhur basins).
According to geodynamic reconstructions,
the Khingan-Okhotsk active continental margin,
bounded by the Amur suture from the east, existed in the Early Cretaceous. This margin comprised a magmatic arc marked by a chain of volcanic areas extending from the Lesser Khingan
as far as the Sea of Okhotsk, along with an accretionary complex made up mainly of turbidites.
Olistostrome horizons discovered at different
Early Cretaceous stratigraphic levels are confined to zones of the largest bed-by-bed disintegration. As a result of the oblique subduction of
the Izanagi Plate, the sinistral margin-slip
movements have been initiated in the Valanginian on the East Asian margin and thetransform continental margin started its formation. These movements accompanied by local
collision events became more intensive in theHauterivian, causing elevation of large tectonic
blocks, hiatuses in sedimentation and considerable changes in the coastline.
51

The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016

Fig. 1. The types of Cretaceous rocks in the southeastern Russia.

Marine Hauterivian deposits are reported
only from the southeastern Primorye, where acontinuous Berriasian–Albian section has been
described, and no marine deposits of this age areobserved in the rest of the area.
For the time interval from the Barremian to
the mid-Albian, four sedimentation areas can be
distinguished: West Sikhote-Alin basin area,
East Sikhote-Alin basin area, marginalcontinental basin area, and intracontinental basin area.
The West Sikhote-Alin basin is viewed as apull-apart sea basin filled with Late Hauterivian
and Barremian turbidites. In the Aptian–Early
Albian the Samarga and Udyl island arcs weregenerated in the eastern part of the basin; andthe basin assumed the features of a back-arc basin. Volcanogenic sandstones, tuffs and tuffaceous siltstones are among the terrigenous material predominant. The rate of sedimentation
sharply increased after the Aptian time, when island arcs were becoming larger. The thickness of
the Late Hauterivian–Middle Albian deposits
reaches 5500 m.
The East Sikhote-Alin basin is also interpreted as a pull-apart basin being filled with terrigenous turbidites during the Hauterivian and52

Barremian. Since the beginning of the Aptian, avolcanic material is observed in the turbidites,
and the rate of sedimentation increased sharply.
Since that time, it was a forearc basin where sedimentation continued until the mid-Albian. The
thickness of the deposits is about 9000 m.
The marginal-continental basin area covered the Uda, Torom, Bureya, Razdolny andPartizansk basins. Terrigenous continental deposits about 1500 m thick are among the deposits predominant. The deposits of the first twobasins are represented mostly by conglomerates
and diversified sandstones (about 600 m) whichcontain volcanic material, evidencing about theproximity to the volcanic arcs. In the Late Aptian to mid-Albian, the Okhotsk-Chukchi volcanic
belt and its fragments began to form along thebasin margins. Rhyolites and dacites were thefirst volcanics to appear. The Bureya, Razdolny
and Partizansk basins were coastal-marine
marsh plains during the Hauterivian to midAlbian. A cyclic terrigenous coal formation
about 1500 m thick accumulated there. The
Razdolny and Partizansk basins can be considered as pull-apart basins because their formation
during the Hauterivian was associated with theintensive left-lateral strike-slip faults. During theCretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western PacificFig. 2. Diagram showing CI, CIA and CIW values obtained for the Upper Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous of southeastern
Russia. Formations: J3tl – Talyndzhan, J3db – Dublican, K1sn – Soloni, K1čg – Chagdamyn, K1čm – Chemchuki.

mid-Albian transgression, the sea penetrated
briefly the Bureya and Partizansk basins, as confirmed by the beds with marine Trigonia andforaminifers. Since the Late Albian, however, thetype of sedimentation in the Partizansk andRazdolny basins sharply changed: after shortpause the continental coarse clastic, variegatedvolcanogenic-terrigenous sediments about 3500
m thick were deposited.
The Amur-Zeya basin is related to the intracontinental basin areas that expanded substantially during the Hauterivian to early Albian, thus marking a post-rift subsidence stage ofthe development. During this time 1200 m ofterrigenous deposits accumulated and acid volcanics erupted.
Early Cretaceous paleoclimates can be inferred from lithological, paleobotanic and lithochemical data obtained in the most studied Bureya Basin. The formation of the Late Jurassic–
Early Cretaceous coal beds occurred in a warm
humid climate.
From K. Raunkier cycadophyte index( CI 

b1 b
  100 ) of the floral remains V.A.
а1 а

Krassilov established that a warming event occurred in the Tithonian (Dublican Formation).
This warm period was followed by a cooling in
the Berriasian–Early Hauterivian (Urgal and
Chagdamyn formations) and then by somewarming in the Late Hauterivian–Aptian(Chemchuki Formation) (Krassilov, 1973).

We have determined standard lithochemical indices:
CIA = Al2O3 / (Al2O3+CaO*+Na2O+K2O) x 100(chemical index of alteration)
CIW = Al2O3 / (Al2O3+CaO+Na2O) x100
(a new chemical index of weathering)
The boundary between cold and warm climates is defined by CIA value of 70 or CIW value of 80 in the clay shales (aleuropelites) and by
the lower values in the psammites. The average
CIA and CIW values of the studied Late Jurassic
psammites are 58.3 and 73.3, respectively, andthose of the Early Cretaceous psammites arelower (57 and 67). The average CIA and CIW
values of the Late Jurassic aleuropelites are 75.2
and 87.2. Based on these parameters, it should
be concluded that climate in the Tithonian was
warm while during the other studied time intervals the climate was warm-temperate (Fig. 2).
An increase in CI values indicates a warming
process.
The formation of the extended OkhotskChukchi magmatic arc (or volcanic belt) wascommenced in the mid-Albian and was the mostremarkable event at the Early–Late Cretaceoustransition. The East Sikhote-Alin belt, which alsobegan to form at the same time, was a southern
continuation of the Okhotsk-Chukchi belt.
In the Late Cretaceous the Far Eastern region included eastern and western depositional
areas. The western continental area was characterized by the eruption of acid to intermediate
53

The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016volcanics during the Cenomanian–Turonian;
however, a hiatus in sedimentation is observedin the Amur-Zeya basin. During the Turonian to
Senonian, extensive 300 m thick lacustrine sandstones and clays with rich fauna were deposited.
Along the basin margins, conglomerates occur
with deposits reaching 800 m in thickness.
Maastrichtian–Danian cyclic sandstones, gravels
and claystones up to 450 m thick are widespread. Dinosaur remains were found in the
mid-Maastrichtian beds.
In the eastern area, the Late Cretaceous East
Sikhote-Alin volcanic belt was formed in the
coastal part of the continent. An alternating series of lavas and intermediate to acid tuff ofabout 1500 m in total thickness have been
formed. During the Late Cretaceous, the West
Sikhote-Alin belt continued to form, generating
1800 m thick series of alternating lavas and intermediate to acid tuff. Volcanic arcs represented topographic highs that probably had an impact on local climatic conditions and thus

sedimentary regimes. Within the back arcs,
Cenomanian–Turonian continental variegatedvolcanogenic-sedimentarydeposits(about3000 m) were generated suggesting an initialhigh rate of volcanic arc denudation whiletroughs were being formed.
During the Late Cretaceous, most of the Far
Eastern region was a land. A marine embayment
persisted only in the northeastern part, along thepresent-day Amur River valley. It represented aback-arc basin, in which about 4000 m of coarse
sandstones, siltstones and mudstones mixed
with tuffaceous material were deposited during
the Cenomanian–Turonian. Basal conglomerates
mark the base of the sequence. At the end of theTuronian, the sea retreated from the region
completely, and since that time until the latest
Cretaceous, andesite and rhyolite volcanic rocks
up to 1000 m thick were formed. The sea retreated to the eastern margin of the East Sikhote-Alin
belt.

References
Baraboshkin, E.Yu., Markevich, V.S., Bugdaeva, E.V.,
Afonin, M.A., Cherepanova, M.V. (Eds.), 2014.
Cretaceous System of Russia and the nearabroad: problems of stratigraphy and paleogeography. Proceedings of the 7th Russian Scientific
Conference with international participation.
Dalnauka, Vladivostok.
Cao, C.R., Kirillova, G.L., Sorokin, A.P., Kaplun, V.B.,
Cao, Y.Qu., Zhang, Y.J., 2013. Structural framework and evolution of the Sunwu-Jiayin Basin in
NE China and its relation to the structures of the
Zeya-Bureya Basin, the Far East of Russia.
Tikhookean. Geol. 32(6), 68–78.
Decisions of IV Interdepartment Regional Stratigraphic Meeting on Precambrian and Phanerozoic of
the southern Far East and Eastern Transbaikalia.
A set of stratigraphic charts. Khabarovsk, 1994.
Didenko, A.N., Khanchuk, A.I., Tikhomirova, A.I.,
Voinova, I.P., 2014. Eastern segment of theKiselevka-Manoma terrane (northern SikhoteAlin): Paleomagnetism and geodynamic consequences. Tikhookean. Geol. 33(1), 20–40.
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Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western Pacific

Palynomorphs and biofacies in the Upper Cretaceous sediments of northern Siberia
N.K. Lebedeva1,2
1Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics, Siberian Branch of RAS, Acad. Koptyug av. 3, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
2Novosibirsk State University, Pirogova str. 2, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia

e-mail: lebedevank@ipgg.sbras.ru

The significance of microphytofossils forpaleogeographic and paleoecological reconstructions is one of the most complex and debatablequestions. The distribution of different palynomorph groups, including dinoflagellate cysts,
acritarchs, and unicellular green algae, throughbionomic zones of sea depends on many interrelated factors, the influence of which on the biota
structure frequently cannot be discriminatedwhen reconstructing different parameters of
paleobasin (depth, salinity, hydrodynamics, isolation degree of the basin, water chemistry andothers). This work continues the series of papers
dedicated to paleoecological properties of marine microphytofossils and their significance forreconstructing habitat conditions (Lebedeva andZverev, 2003; Lebedeva, 2008). Altogether theypresent the results of the biofacies analysis ofpalynomorphs from natural outcrops of Upper
Cretaceous sediments in the Ust’-Yenisei area.
This section was selected to serve as a standard
for development of methodical approaches,
since it is composed of different-facies sedimentswith abundant and diverse assemblages of plantmicrofossils and is well studied both in the
paleontological and sedimentological aspects(Zakharov et al., 1991, 2003; Sahagian et al.,
1996; Lebedeva and Zverev, 2003; Lebedeva,
2006). The analysis of quantitative characteristics
of individual palynomorph groups, morphotypes and taxa of dinocysts, as well aschanges in their taxonomical structures revealed
seven palynomorph assemblages that characterize terrestrial, coastal marine, shallow-, anddeep-water settings (Lebedeva, 2008). It should
be noted that the terms “shallow-water” and“deep-water” are conditional, since microphytoplankton is linked more to distance from theshore than to depth of the basin.

ed by freshwater Schizoporis, Schizocysta, andTetraporina forms.

Terrestrial

Assemblage 4 is largely composed of sporesand pollen (40–60%) accompanied by freshwater
algae (0–10%), acritarchs (0–20%), prasinophytes(0–12%), and Paralecaniella (0–20%). Dinocysts

Assemblage 1 is dominated by spores andpollen (90–100%) accompanied by common
aqueous ferns and microphytofossils represent-

Coastal-marine (sublittoral settings with highenergy hydrodynamics and a varying degree ofdesalination)
Assemblage 2a is dominated by spores andpollen (40–90%). Phytoplankton includes freshwater algae (0–10%), acritarchs (8%: Micrhystridium, Veryhachium, Leiofusa), and prasinophytes(0–12%: Pterospermella, Cymatiosphaera). Paralecaniella: 5–45%. Dinocysts are largely represented by the gonyaulacoid group accompanied bychorate (0–40%), diverse cavate (Chatangiella,
Trithyrodinium, Alterbidinium, Palaeohystrichophora), and rare (up to 6%) holocavate (Chlamydophorella, Chlonoviella) forms. The remarkable feature of the assemblage is the occurrence ofproximochorate cysts of the Cyclonephelium–
Circulodinium group, Fromea, and Microdinium
species (locally >5%).
Assemblage 2b is also dominated by sporesand pollen (40–90%). The composition of microphytofossils is highly impoverished. All thegroups occur in insignificant quantities except
for freshwater algae, which constitute 5–20%,
and Paralecaniella (up to 50%). Dinocysts are of
extremely low diversity with Fromea playing themost notable role.
Assemblage 3 is characterized by the dominant role of the genus Paralecaniella (80–100%)and a highly impoverished dinocyst composition, which are either missing or uniform lacking chorate forms such as Pterospermella andSchizoporis representatives.
Shallow-water (sublittoral settings with normal
marine salinity, subjected to substantial
influence of land: dominant role of terrestrial
plants and others)

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The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016

are dominated by the peridinioid group mainly
represented by cavate, proximate (Microdinium,
Rhyptocorys, Glyphanodinium), and chorate forms;
the last group is relatively abundant (0–24%),
although of uniform composition.
Assemblage 5 dominated by spores andpollen (40–60%) also includes freshwater algae(0–5%), acritarchs (0–15%), prasinophytes (1–25%), and Paralecaniella (0–40%) forms. Dinocysts are dominated by the peridinioid groupwith diverse cavate and proximate forms being
represented in approximately equal proportions;chorate and holocavate forms are rare.
Deepwater (sublittoral zone with normal marine
salinity, most remote from the shoreline)
Assemblage 6 is dominated by marine microphytoplankton (up to 70%) with freshwater
algae, acritarchs, prasinophytes, and Paralecaniella present in small quantities. Dinocysts are alternatively dominated by either gonyaulacoid
and peridinioid forms; diverse cavate and proximate forms occur in approximately equal proportions, and abundance of chorate cysts
amounts to 40%.
Assemblage 7 is dominated by marine microphytoplankton (up to 100%) accompanied byrare freshwater algae, acritarchs, prasinophytes,
and Paralecaniella species, which constitute a few
percent. Diverse dinocysts represented by allmorphotypes are dominated by the peridinioidgroup (mostly cavate forms).
The analysis of proportions between different taxa and morphotypes of dinocysts, acritarchs and prasinophytes in defined assemblages revealed certain patterns in their distribution.
Cavate cysts (Eurydinium, Trithyrodinium,
Palaeohystrichophora, Alterbidinium, Odontochitina,
Spinidinium, Isabelidinium, Chatangiella). This tolerant cosmopolitan group occurs in practicallyall the facies types of assemblages, except for assemblages 1 and 3, although is most abundantand diverse in assemblages 4–7 (shallow-waterand deep-water facies). The genera Chatangiellaand Trithyodinium are registered in all assemblages, being most abundant in assemblages 4–6
and prevailing in sandy sediments (Lebedeva,
2001). The genus Palaeohystrichophora occurs as
single specimens in most sections, but is abundant only in the Seida and Leningradskaya-1
Well sections. It is conceivable that representa56

tives of this genus may tolerate desalination,
which is evident from its mass occurrence in assemblages 2a and 3. May (1980) noted the confinement of Palaeohystrichophora forms to estuarine or coastal bay settings. The genus
Odontochitina is probably eurybiontic, since it
occurs in all the defined assemblages, except forassemblages dominated by Paralecaniella. Many
authors (e.g., Brideaux and McIntyre, 1975;
Tocher and Jarvis, 1987) also emphasized thetolerance of this genus to changeable environments. The genera Spinidinium and Isabelidinium
prefer shallow-water and deep-water facies (assemblages 4 and 7). The maximal Spinidinium
content is recorded in the Seida River section.
Proximate, proximochorate cysts (Rhyptocorys, Microdinium, Cribroperidinium, Apteodinium, Kallosphaeridium, Circulodinium, Laciniadinium, Dorocysta and others) include taxa with awide habitat range, being most abundant in assemblages 2a and 6. The genera Cyclonephelium
and Circulodinium occur universally. They tolerate brackish-water settings, as is evident fromtheir abundance in Assemblage 2a. The genera
Cribroperidinium, Apteodinium, Kallosphaeridium
and Canningia are similarly tolerant to different
environments, which is also confirmed by published data (Harris and Tocher, 2003). Development of the genera Apteodinium, Kallosphaeridium
and Batiacasphaera is closely connected with prograding transgression: their content increases
seaward. The genus Microdinium is most abundant in coastal-marine and shallow-water settings (assemblages 2a, 4, 5). The genus Rhyptocorys is usually confined to shallow- and deepwater sediments (assemblages 4, 6).
Holocavate cysts (Chlonoviella, Chlamydophorella, Membranisphaera) occur in all the defined assemblages. They represent one of a few
groups, which occur in Assemblage 3. In theUst’-Yenisei section, the genera Chlonoviella andChlamydophorella are abundant in Assemblage 6.
In sections of West Siberia, Kara Sea shelf andPolar Cis-Urals, the content of holocavate cysts
is substantially higher and they are abundant inshallow- and deep-water assemblages 5–7 aswell as in coastal-marine Assemblage 2a. This
group probably occupied remote biotopes regardless of their depths. This assumption is confirmed by data on other regions and stratigraphic intervals (e.g., Lebedeva and Nikitenko, 1999;
Harris and Tocher, 2003; Nikitenko et al., 2008).

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western PacificChorate cysts (Spiniferites, Achomosphaera,
Coronifera, Oligosphaeridium, Hystrichosphaeridium, Heterosphaeridium, Exochosphaeridium, Florentinia, Pervosphaeridium, Membranilarnacia andothers) occur in all the assemblages (except forassemblages 1 and 3), although they prefer environments with low-energy hydrodynamics (assemblages 2a, 4, 6, 7). The genera and their species constituting this group exhibit different
ecological preferences. As previously mentioned, the data on facies confinement of the genus Spiniferites are ambiguous. Our materials
contribute little to the solution of this problem.
The substantial increase in abundance and diversity of this genus is observable both in deepwater assemblages 6 and 7 and in coastal-marine
Assemblage 2a. At the same time, there are no
grounds to speak about wide-range tolerance ofthe genus Spiniferites, since in all other settings it
is either absent or occurs as single specimens.
The genus Oligosphaeridium occurs in all the settings, although the species Oligosphaeridium complex is usually confined to deep-water facies (Assemblage 7). Oligosphaeridium pulcherrimum isconsidered to be a euryhaline species (probably,
preferring lowered salinity) (Harris and Tocher,2003). The genera Pterodinium and Dapsilidinium
are confined to deep-water remote settings. In
contrast, the genera Exochosphaeridium and Cleistosphaeridium are abundant in coastal-marine
and shallow-water facies.
Prasinophytes(Pterospermella,
Cymatiosphaera, Leiosphaeridia) occur in facies of two
types. They are usually confined to shallowwater and deep-water sediments (assemblages 5
and 6) in the Ust’-Yenisei section and coastalmarine facies (Assemblage 2a) in sections ofWest Siberia and Polar Cis-Urals region. The
dual distribution patterns were also noted elsewhere (Lebedeva, 2008). It should, however, be
noted that no representatives of the genus Pterospermella are found in brackish-water environments. The genus Leiosphaeridia occurs universally in small quantities being usually confined tosediments reflecting the onset of transgression
or regressive phase.
Acritarchs occur in small abundance in Assemblage 2a, where they are represented by thegenera Micrhystridium and Leiofusa. Such a distribution of acritarchs is consistent with the data
indicating their confinement to sediments re-flecting either the initial stage of a transgression
or regression. Moreover, they are more abundant in clayey and silty sediments as comparedwith coarse-grained varieties. Acritarchs (largely
Veryhachium representatives) are also abundant
in deep-water environments with slightly stagnant waters.
Paralecaniella representatives occur in all
the assemblages in variable proportions. The
largest proportion of this genus is recorded inassemblages 2a and 3 with its dominant role in
the last one. The genus is generally characteristicof rapidly changeable settings (Chaika River section). The coastal-marine settings with normal
salinity, high-energy hydrodynamics and sufficient aeration were probably most favorable forthe genus Paralecaniella. The data obtained areconsistent with the results of other studies(Brinkhuis and Schiøler, 1996; Schiøler et al.,1997).
The comparative analysis of palynomorph
assemblages from the Cenomanian–Coniaciansections of the Ust’-Yenisei area and other West
Siberian areas (Berezovskaya-23k, YuzhnoRusskaya-113, and Leningradskaya-1 wells) as
well as from the Santonian–Campanian sediments of the Ust’-Yenisei, Khatanga and Polar
Cis-Urals regions demonstrates that transgressive–regressive cycles reflected in the taxonomic
structure of assemblages are most distinct incoastal sections (particularly at the transition between terrestrial and marine sediments) and lessdistinct in the marine section. The biofacies andpalynomorph compositions exhibit regular succession from the periphery toward central partsof the West Siberian basin. It is established thatfacies successions in sections of the eastern andwestern areas of West Siberia during the Santonian–Campanian differ from each other, which
is probably explained by the influence of boththe West Siberian and Russian seas on sedimentation in the last domain at that time. Some defined patterns in the facies affinity of individual
palynomorph groups, morphotypes and taxa of
dinocysts may be used for paleogeographic interpretations. The established distribution patterns of dinocyst and other microphytofossil
morphotypes determined by transgressive–
regressive cycles make them a useful tool for reconstruction of sedimentation paleosettings.
This is a contribution to the IGCP608 and programs 30 and 43 of the Presidium of the RAS.
57

The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016

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Lebedeva, N.K., 2001. Genus Chatangiella (dinoflagellate cysts): stratigraphic significance and geographic distribution. News of Paleontology andStratigraphy 4, 125–133; Suppl. to journal Geol.
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Siberia (Russia). Palaeogeographic and paleoenvironmental discussion. Grana 38, 134–143.
Lebedeva, N.K., Zverev, K.V., 2003. Sedimentologicaland palynological analysis of the Cenomanian–

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Turonian event in Northern Siberia. Rus. Geol.
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May, F.E., 1980. Dinoflagellate cysts of the Gymnodiniaceae, Peridiniaceae and Gonyaulacaceae fromthe Upper Cretaceous Monmouth Group, Atlantic Highland, New Jersey. Palaeontographica B
172, 10–116.
Nikitenko, B.L., Pestchevitskaya, E.B., Lebedeva,
N.K., Ilyina, V.I., 2008. Micropaleontological andpalynological analyses across the Jurassic–
Cretaceous boundary on Nordvik Peninsula,
Northeast Siberia. Newslett. Stratigr. 42, 181–222.
Sahagian, D., Pinous, O.V., Olferiev, A.G., Zakharov,
V.A., 1996. Eustatic curve for the Middle Jurassic–Cretaceous based on Russian Platform andSiberian stratigraphy: zonal resolution. AAPG
Bull. 80, 1433–1458.
Schiøler, P., Brinkhuis, H., Roncaglia, L., Wilson, G.J.,
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Tocher, B.A., Jarvis, I., 1987. Dinoflagellate cysts andstratigraphy of the Turonian (Upper Cretaceous)
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138–175.
Zakharov, V.A., Beizel, A.L., Lebedeva, N.K.,
Khomentovsky, O.V., 1991. Evidence for eustatic
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Biotic and abiotic events in the Arctic biogeographic region during the Late Cretaceous. Rus.
Geol. Geophys. 44, 1093–1103.

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western PacificPakistan paleoclimate under greenhouse conditions;
Closure of Tethys from Pakistan;
Geobiological evolution of South Asia (Indo-Pak subcontinent)
M.S. Malkani
Geological Survey of Pakistan, Upper Chattar 130 D, str. 16, Muzaffarabad, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan; e-mail: malkanims@yahoo.com

Pakistan paleoclimate under greenhouseconditions
Warm (greenhouse) climatic conditions
prevailed in Pakistan. Warm climates were dominant here during the Paleozoic except the Early
Permian, when Tobra/Talchir beds were deposited. These beds show cold (icehouse) climate/glaciations (tillites-cemented angular to
sub angular pebbles, cobbles and boulders with
faceted, smoothed, polished, striated and pitted
rock fragments) in the Eastern Salt Range andPotwar (upper Indus) Basin. In the Mesozoic
and Paleogene deposits of Pakistan, there are noevidences for icehouse climate, while the Pleistocene and Holocene in Kohistan-Ladakh, Hindukush-Karakoram and northern extremity of
Azad Kashmir show glacial deposits, like tillites
and moraines (cemented and stratified), and tills(nonsorted and non stratified), and fluvioglacial
deposits. So far only two icehouse records havebeen found in Pakistan: Early Permian glaciations in eastern Salt Range, and Quaternary glaciations in northern areas of Pakistan.
Closure of Tethys from Pakistan
The Indo-Pak subcontinental plate first collided with Afghan block (close to ZhobWaziristan) of Asia at the latest Cretaceous (70–67 Ma) and also docked with Kohistan-Ladakh
Tethyan belt. The latest Cretaceous collision is
responsible for the birth of Kohistan-Ladakh
magmatic arc. The magmatism ended in Kohistan-Ladakh arc but it is continuing in Chagai
magmatic arc. Curves of sea-level ﬂuctuations in
the Tethyan Sulaiman (Middle Indus) and Kohat-Potwar basins show considerable drop at thelatest Cretaceous. During the Early Paleocene,
the sea transgressed these areas. During the Late
Paleocene, the sea regressed from the western
Sulaiman, northern Balochistan, upper and uppermost Indus basins due to further uplift andcontinued collision of subcontinent. This firstcollision is responsible for the birth of Paleo In-

dus River systems which generally flow from
north to south and from northwest to southeast,
as well as for the birth of Paleo Ganges andPaleo Brahmaputra rivers systems which generally flow from west to east. As a result of the collision, the northwestern margin of Indo-Pak became elevated in the latest Cretaceous, creating
terrestrial environments for the deposition of the
Vitakri and Indus formations. The Vitakri Formation (red overbank muds and meandering
sandstones) accumulated in the lower and middle Indus basins while the Indus Formation(bauxites and laterites) accumulated in the upper and uppermost Indus basins. During the
Early Eocene, the suture and surrounding areas
were uplifted enough to originate the Paleo Indus River systems supplying detritials/clasts
from northwest and north. Major streams generally flow from northwest to southeast in Sulaiman (middle Indus) and from north to south in the
Khyber-Hazara-Kashmir (uppermost Indus) andKohat-Potwar (upper Indus) basins. During theLate Eocene, the sea further regressed from theuppermost, upper and middle Indus basins ofPakistan and was permanently closed.
The Early Eocene deposits of Paleo Indus
River system are represented by Shaheed
Ghat/Murgha Faqirzai shale (distal delta, mainly
shale with some sand lenses), Toi/Mina (green
shale and sandstone) and Kingri/Shagala (redshale and sandstone) formations of Chamalang(Ghazij)/Shagala groups in the Sulaiman/Balochistan basins, and by Chorgali (green
shale, limestone and dolomite) and Kuldana(red and green muds, limestone and dolomite,and sandstone) formations of Kuldana Group in
the upper and uppermost Indus basins. Further
in the east (in India) the vertebrate-bearing Subathu Formation (Sahni et al., 1983) was deposited under the Paleo Indus River systems. The
Kingri Formation (sandstone alternated with red
and maroon muds) in Sulaiman, the Shagala
Formation (sandstone alternated with red and
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The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016

maroon muds; fossils of land baluchithere
Pakitherium) in the northern Balochistan Basin,
and the Kuldana Formation in the upper anduppermost Indus basins are the result of terrestrial deposition. After their deposition a sea
transgression occurred, and some other strata
were deposited: the marine Drug and evaporitic
Baska, marine Middle Eocene Kahan Group(Habib Rahi marl and limestone, Domanda
shale, Pirkoh marl and limestone, and Drazinda
shale) in Sulaiman; the upper Kuldana in the
Kohat-Potwar and Khyber-Hazara-Kashmir basins; and the Mina/Panjgur Formation in southern Balochistan basin.
However, after the early Middle Eocene the
Potwar and Khyber-Hazara-Kashmir basins uplifted, showing permanent closure of Tethys fromthe Potwar and uppermost Indus basins. This
was the start of closure of Tethys from Pakistan.
At the Late Eocene, a major and hard collision of Indo-Pak subcontinent with Asia occurred. As a result, the Tethys retreated further
to the south, just close to the northern margin of
Kirthar/lower Indus Basin (Fig. 1).
The Oligocene shows no depositions in the
Khyber-Hazara-Kashmir while the terrestrial
Chitarwata Formation was deposited in the
middle Indus, and the marine Nari and Gaj for60

mations were deposited in the lower Indus Basin. The Tethys regressed permanently from thelower Indus Basin at the Oligocene–Miocene
boundary. The Tethys further retreated backward to the south at the beginning of the Miocene, and consequently the Manchar Group(lower Indus Basin), the Vihowa, Litra and
Chaudhwan formations of the Vihowa Group(northern Balochistan and middle Indus basins),
the Murree Formation and Potwar Group (upper and uppermost Indus basins) and the Siwalik Group in India were deposited.
During the Pleistocene–Holocene, the sea
further retreated to the south. In Balochistan, theOligocene–Pliocene Talar (=Vihowa) Group(Parkini mudstone, Talar sandstone, and Chatti
mudstone) were deposited in southern Makran
Basin. The Sakhi Sarwar Group (conglomerate of
the Dada Formation, and sandstone, mudstone
and conglomerate of the Sakhi Sarwar Formation) in northern Balochistan, and lower andmiddle Indus basins as well as the Soan Groupin the upper Indus Basin and the
Kech/Kamerod/Bostan in Balochistan Basin were
deposited by high energy fluvial processes. Fluvial systems represent much folding, faulting
and uplifting of Himalayas, Karakoram, Hindukush and advancing part of Indo-Pak plate.

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western PacificGeobiological evolution of South Asia
(Indo-Pak subcontinent)
The geobiological evolution of Indo-Pak issignificant due to its present regional contact
with Asia but with Gondwana in the past. India
was the only source of information on dinosaurs
until 2000. In 2000 Pakistan appeared for the
first time in the world dinosaur map. A few fossils of the Late Jurassic titanosaurian sauropod(Brohisaurus kirthari) and Late Cretaceous
mesoeucrocodile/mesocrocodile(Khuzdarcroco
zahri) were found in the lower Indus (Kirthar)
Basin. In upper Indus (Kohat and Potwar) basins, trackways of a herd of wide-gauge titanosaurian sauropods (Malakhelisaurus mianwali)
confronted by a running narrow-gauge theropod (Samanadrinda surghari) were recorded in
the Middle Jurassic Samanasuk Limestone. In
the middle Indus (Sulaiman) Basin, about 3000
fossils were collected from more than 30 localities in the latest Cretaceous Vitakri Formation(fluvial succession; two red mud horizons alternated with two sandstone horizons). These fossils include titanosaurian sauropods, abelisaurian and noasaurian theropods, mesoeucrocodiles,
and pterosaurs (see Malkani in the present bookof short papers). The trackways of titanosaurian
sauropod dinosaurs are found on the thicksandstone bed of the Vitakri Formation in Sor
Muzghai locality, Qila Saif Ullah District, Balochistan, and this discovery is the first in Asia.
The Mesozoic vertebrates show relatively
close affinity to those of Gondwana than Laura-

sia while the Cenozoic vertebrates show Eurasian affinity and migrated from Indo-Pak to
Eurasia or vice versa via Paleo Indus River systems along western and northern Indus Suture,
after the terminal Cretaceous collision of IndoPak subcontinent with Asia.
Indo-Pakistan separated from Madagascar at the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary timeand started northward journey at the earliest
Cretaceous (135 Ma). It migrated rapidly, covering more than 5000 km in about 60 Ma. Its
northwestern corner for the first time collided
with Afghan block of Tethys and Asia at the latest Cretaceous (about 70–67 Ma). This corner
acted as a pivot point for counterclockwise rotation. Just after this collision the northern extremity of Indo-Pak docked with Kohistan-Ladakh
Tethyan belt. The main geoevents occurred at
the Pliocene–Pleistocene boundary time and resulted in further retreat of sea from the Kirthar(lower/southern Indus) basin as the terrestrial
Vihowa/Manchar Group was deposited. The last
major episode occurred at the terminal Pleistocene resulting in further retreat of sea in thesouth, folding and faulting. The northward
movements of Indo-Pak plate are continuing so
far. This orogeny is responsible for creating
highest peaks and present morphology. Neotethys is remained in the east, south and mostly
in the west and is named now as Indian Ocean,and the subcontinent is named as South Asia
(Indo-Pak peninsula).

Reference
Sahni, A., Bhatia, S.B. Kumar, K., 1983. Faunal evidence for the withdrawal of the Tethys in theLesser Himalaya, Northwestern India. B. Soc.
Paleontol. Ital. 22 (1–2), 77–86.

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The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016

Assessing effects of Deccan volcanism on biota and environments of non-marine
Maastrichtian–Palaeogene sediments of Central India
D.M. Mohabey and B. Samant
PG Department of Geology, RTM Nagpur University, Law College Square, Amravati Road, Nagpur 440001, India;
e-mail: dinomohabey@yahoo.com

Link between Deccan Large Igneous Province (DLIP) and mass extinction at the Cretaceous–Palaeogene (K–Pg) boundary is still an
ongoing debate in spite that it is a best studied
LIP in the world. It is expected that effects ofhostilities of Deccan volcanism by gas emissions(Renne et al., 2015) and by lava flows were more
pronounced on the environment and biota of
India during the Maastrichtian–Palaeogene transition. Chenet et al. (2007, 2008) considered that
Deccan flood basalts (DCFB) erupted in threephases: the first phase in C30n at 67.4 Ma, thesecond/main phase in C29r (200–100 ky before
the K–Pg boundary), and the third phase in C29r
in the Danian. However, recent studies (Schöbel
et al., 2014; Schoene et al., 2014; Renne et al.,2015) show that the second phase lasted muchbeyond the K–Pg boundary and outpoured over
80% of the total Deccan lava eruptions.
Our investigation focuses on sedimentary
beds at different stratigraphic levels in the Deccan volcanic sequence (DVS) of Central Deccan
Volcanic Province (CDVP) and Eastern Deccan
Volcanic Province (EDVP). The multiple sedimentary layers studied have an adequate stratigraphic constraints provided by a flow-wise
mapping on 1:50K scale and volcanostratigraphy established by Geological Survey ofIndia. The DVS in the geographically separated
areas have different sites and centres of magmatic eruptions. In the CDVP and EDVP, few
flows are indicated to be chemical analogues ofthe flows of Western Deccan Volcanic Province(WDVP) but such flows outpoured at different
magnetochrons. The sediments associated with
the DCFB are deposited in CDVP and EDVP as
infratrappean/Lameta Formation before the arrival of the first lava flows that terminated sedimentation or as intertrappean sediments deposited at different stratigraphic levels during
pauses in the volcanic eruptions. Sedimentary
record of environmental and biotic changes ismainly influenced by the Deccan volcanism. We
62studied volcano-, palyno-, and magnetostratigraphy in the selected field transects in the EDVP
and
CDVP.
These
transects
include(i) Chandrapur-Wardha-Amravati-YavatmalNanded in the Sahyadri Group of Deccan Traps
targeting sediments at 13 stratigraphic levels
within the sequence of 28 basaltic flows between
200 and 498 m RL covering 30 localities,(ii) Chhindwara-Seoni in the Amarkantak Group
at 10 stratigraphic levels in the sequence of 31
flows between 530 and 870 m RL in 19 localities,and (iii) Dhar-Bagh in the Malwa Group at 8
stratigraphic levels in the lower 18 flow sequence between 216 and 333 m RL in 14 localities. We also studied the intertrappean beds at
different stratigraphic levels in Saurashtra andKutch.
The Lameta outcrops are found scattered incentral and western India as thin narrow discontinuous bands round the borders of the trap
country and are covered by earliest lava-flows in
the basins. The sediments are not of any great
vertical extent in comparison to its wide horizontality. They are deposited (Mohabey, 1996) indifferent inland basins: (1) Nand-Dongargaon(N-D), (2) Jabalpur, (3) Sagar, (4) AmbikapurAmarkantak, (5) Balasinor-Jhabua-Bagh (B-J-B),(6) Salburdi, and (7) Adilabad and Ranga Reddy.
The timing of the arrival of the first lava flowsthat terminated the sedimentation and arrival of
the last flow is observed to be different in thesebasins. Litho- and biofacies analysis shows that
sediments are pedogenically modified and aredeposited in alluvial-limnic environments under
semiarid climate.
The sediments in different basins are timetransgressive, they were deposited during themagnetochrons C30n to C29r of the Maastrichtian (Hansen et al., 2005; Mohabey and Samant,2013). The B-J-B Basin sediments were deposited
during C30n, whereas the sediments of N-D and
Jabalpur basins were deposited during C30n–
C29r. The sediments are rich in fossils of verte-Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western Pacificbrates, including non-avian titanosauridabelisaurid dinosaurs, bothremydid turtles, Simosuchus crocodiles, madtsoid snakes, frogs, andfishes; invertebrates, like molluscs and ostracods; pteridophyte-angiosperm dominated flora(Huene and Matley, 1933; Mohabey, 1984; Wilson et al., 2010; Samant and Mohabey, 2014). Theintertrapean sedimentary beds between the lava
flows are mainly deposits of ponds and lakes
that developed over the fresh lava surface. Reports of marine or near-marine sediments are rare. The intertrappean sediments also yield diversified fauna comprising titanosaurs, turtles,
lizards, crocodiles, frogs, fishes, micromammals,
ostrocods, and molluscs; megaflora is dominated by gymnosperms and angiosperms.
The study shows that the appearance of angiosperms and non-avian dinosaurs in India wascoeval and took place in the Maastrichtian chron
C30n. Dinosaurs appeared about 550 ky before

the K–Pg boundary and disappeared completely
about 350 ky before the K–Pg boundary. The decline in the diversity and abundance of dinosaurs is commensurate with beginning of volcanic eruptions in the province. It is also
observed that eruption of the first Deccan volcanic flows markedly changed the existing floral
composition, from a flora dominated by pteridophytes and angiosperms to a flora dominatedby gymnosperms and angiosperms; this event
appears to be close to the chrons C30n–C29r in
the Maastrichtian. Presence of Palaeocene palynoflora in sediments associated with flows, withnormal magnetic polarity interpreted as C30n is
recorded in the Sahyadri Group of Yavatmaland Amarkantak Group of Chhindwara area.
We conclude that the Deccan volcanism in the
CDVP and EDVP was initiated in C30n of theMaastrichtian and lasted with an extended duration at least till C28n in the Palaeocene.

References
Chenet, A.L., Quidelleur, X., Fluteau, F., Courtillot, V.,
Bajpai, S., 2007. 40K–40Ar dating of the main
Deccan large igneous province: further evidence of KTB age and short duration. Earth
Planet. Sci. Lett. 263, 1–15.
Chenet, A.L., Fluteau, F., Courtillot, V., Gerard, M.,
Subbarao, K.V., 2008. Determination of rapid
Deccan eruptions across the KTB using paleomagnetic secular variation: results from a
1200-m-thick section in the Mahabaleshwar escarpment. J. Geophys. Res. 113, B04101.
Hansen, H.J., Mohabey, D.M., Lojen, S., Toft, P.,
Sarkar, A., 2005. Orbital cycles and stable carbon isotopes of sediments associated with
Deccan volcanic suite, India: Implications forthe stratigraphic correlation and Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary. Gondwana Geol.
Mag. Spec. Vol. 8, 5–28.
Huene, F.B. von, Matley, C.A., 1933. The Cretaceous
Saurischia and Ornithischia of the central
provinces of India. Mem. Geol. Surv. India:
Palaeontol. Indica 21, 1–24.
Mohabey, D.M., 1984. Study of dinosaurian eggs from
Infratrappean Limestone in Kheda District,
Gujarat. J. Geol. Soc. India 25(6), 329–337.
Mohabey, D.M., 1996. Depositional environment ofLameta Formation (Late Cretaceous) of NandDongargaon inland basin, Maharashtra: thefossil and lithological evidences. Mem. Geol.
Soc. India 37, 363–386.

Mohabey, D.M., Samant, B., 2013. Deccan continental
flood basalt eruption terminated Indian dinosaurs before the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary. Geol. Soc. India Spec. Publ. 1, 260–267.
Renne, P.R., Sprain, C.J., Richards, M.A., Self, S., Vanderkluysen, L., Pande, K., 2015. State shift in
Deccan volcanism at the Cretaceous–
Paleogene boundary, possibly induced by impact. Science 350(6256), 76–78.
Samant, B., Mohabey, D.M., 2014. Deccan volcanic
eruptions and their impact on flora: palynological evidence. Geol. Soc. Am., Spec. Pap. 505,
171–191.
Schöbel, S., de Wall, H., Ganerød, M., Pandit, M.K.,
Rolf, Ch., 2014. Magnetostratigraphy and 40Ar–
39Ar geochronology of the Malwa Plateau region (Northern Deccan Traps), central western
India: Significance and correlation with themain Deccan Large Igneous Province sequences. J. Asian Earth Sci. 89, 28–45.
Schoene, B., Samperton, K.M., Eddy, M.P., Keller G.,
Adatte, T., Bowring, S.A., Khadri,
S.F.R.,
Gertsch, B., 2014. U-Pb geochronology of the
Deccan Traps and relation to the endCretaceous mass extinction. Science 347(6218),
182–184.
Wilson, J.A., Mohabey, D.M., Peters, S.E., Head, J.J.,
2010. Predation upon hatchling dinosaurs by a
new snake from the Late Cretaceous of India.
PLoS Bio. 8(3), 1–10.

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The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016

Environmental changes in Early Cretaceous palaeobasin of Western Siberia
based on marine and terrestrial palynomorphs
E.B. Pestchevitskaya
Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics, Siberian Branch of RAS, Acad. Koptyug av. 3, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia;
e-mail: peschevickayaeb@ipgg.sbras.ru

Detailed biostratigraphic scales on dinoflagellates, spores and pollen of terrestrial plants
are developed for the Lower Cretaceous ofWestern Siberia based on the investigations ofwell materials and stratotype sections of Khatanga depression (Fig. 1). Palynological successions are calibrated against the Boreal zonal
standard. Key taxa allow the interregional correlations
on
severalstratigraphic
levels(Pestchevitskaya 2007a, 2007b, 2010).
These palynological stratigraphic scales
serve as a basis for a detailed study of facialchanges and dynamics of the West Siberianpalaeobasin. Taking into account the results ofquantitative analysis of microphytoplankton
distribution in different sections, transgressiveregressive (T-R) trends of low-level are revealed (Fig. 1). It should be note, that a complete coincidence of T–R sequences in different
sections is impossible, as it is impossible to takesamples exactly at the same stratigraphic levels.
Nevertheless, some general regularities can be
discussed. Against the background of general
regression trend from the Berriasian to theHauterivian, several minor T–R events can be
determined including more pronounced regression in the middle part of the dinocyst zone
DZ 2 in the lower part of the Lower Valanginian and more pronounced transgression in theupper part of the dinocyst zone DZ 3 in the
middle part of the Lower Valanginian. In somecases, this sequence of T–R event allows moreaccurate and reliable correlation of Siberian
sections. It is especially important for thesouthern regions of Western Siberia, where
palynological assemblages often lack main key
taxa, which are significant correlative markers
in north Siberian biostratigraphic successions(Pestchevitskaya et al., 2012).

The T–R sequences in several sections aresupported by data on micro- and macrofauna(Nikitenko et al., 2008; Pestcheviskaya et al.,2009). There are two patterns: 1) palynologicalsuccessions from the sections located relatively
close to the palaeo coastline are characterised
by increasing microphytoplankton percentage
during the transgressions (Fig. 1); 2) palynological successions of offshore marine areas follow
the reverse trend, when microphytoplankton
percentage increases during the regressions. It
can be related to the distribution of nutrientsand some other factors influencing microphytoplankton development. In recent marine basins, microphytoplankton concentrates in stablemarine environments with intensive mixing ofwater and a high content of biogenic components. These are often quite deep areas of neritic zone. Apparently, in the Early Cretaceous,such conditions occurred in coastal areas during the transgressions of West Siberian palaeobasin, and in inland areas during the regressions. Note, that T–R events are more evident
in in-shore areas, and less clear in central ones,
sometimes showing no indications. In this case,additional information can be obtained fromquantitative analysis of the distribution of palaeoecological groups of terrestrial palynomorphs (Fig. 1).
Spores and pollen of terrestrial plants arrived within the palaeobasin mainly fromcoastal areas, so the composition of spore-pollen
associations is not directly related to the T–R
events. However, the composition of sporepollen associations indirectly reflects the changes in sedimentation features depending on thecomposition of coastal vegetation and palaeolandscapes, which are largely changed due topalaeobasin dynamics. It allows the definition ofFig. 1. Distribution of some terrestrial palynomorphs reflecting T–R trends of Western Siberian palaeobasin (areas
with sediment supply from the lowland).
64

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western Pacific65The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016

T–R trends based on quantitative ratio of sporesand pollen of hydrophilous and droughttolerant plants. In the Early Cretaceous of Siberia, hydrophilous plants included various ferns,
mosses, lycopsids and some gymnosperms producing the pollen of Alisporites and Piceapollenites types and some other morphotypes.
Drought-tolerant plants in northern regions
were mostly represented by ginkgophytes andancient conifers producing the pollen of Pinuspollenites type, while in southern regions, thisgroup of plants was mainly represented by taxodialeans. Two trends are revealed: 1) for palaeobasin areas, where spores and pollen of terrestrial plants arrived from the lowland; 2) for

areas with a supply of terrestrial palynomorphs
from the elevated areas. The first trend is characterised by a decreasing percentage of spores andpollen of hydrophilous plants and increasing
quantity of drought-tolerant plants during thetransgression. The second trend is characterisedby a reverse pattern. Interestingly, T–R trends
determined on terrestrial palynomorphs can be
identify not only in coastal areas, but also in thecentral regions of West Siberian palaeobasin,
where microphytoplankton data are sometimes
uninformative for the reconstruction of detailed
T–R sequences.
This is a contribution to the programs 30 and 43of the Presidium of the RAS and IGCP 608, 632.

References
Nikitenko, B.L., Pestchevitskaya, E.B., Lebedeva, N.K.,
Ilyina, V.I., 2008. Micropalaeontological and palynological analyses across the Jurassic–Cretaceous
boundary on Nordvik Peninsula, Northeast Siberia. Newslett. Stratigr. 42(3), 181–222.
Pestchevitskaya, E.B., 2007a. Lower Cretaceous biostratigraphy of Northern Siberia: Palynologicalunits and their correlation significance. Russ.
Geol. Geophys. 48, 941–959.
Pestchevitskaya, E.B., 2007b. Dinocyst biostratigraphyof the Lower Cretaceous in North Siberia.
Stratigr. Geol. Correl. 15(6), 577–609.
Pestchevitskaya, E.B., 2010. Dinocysts and palynostratigraphy of the Siberian Lower Cretaceous. Geo,
Novosibirsk (in Russian).

66

Pestchevitskaya, E.B., Urman, O.S., Shurygin, B.N.,
2009. Early Valanginian associations of faunaand palynomorphs from eastern margin ofWestern Siberian basin: Biostratigraphic andpalaeoecological aspects, in: Paleontology andimprovement of stratigraphic basis of geologicalmapping: Proceedings of LV session of the Paleontological Society of RAS. St. Petersburg,
pp. 105–107 (in Russian).
Pestchevitskaya, E.B., Smokotina, I.V., Baykalova,
G.E., 2012. Lower Valanginian palynostratigraphy of southeastern regions of Siberia, palaeoenvironment and vegetation reconstructions. J.
Stratigr. 36(2), 179–193.

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western Pacific

Palaeoenvironmental changes in the Early Cretaceous of Gydan region (NW Siberia)
E.B. Pestchevitskaya, O.D. Nikolenko, L.G. Vakulenko, S.V. Ershov and P.A. Yan
Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics, Siberian Branch of RAS, Acad. Koptyug av. 3, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia;
e-mail: peschevickayaeb@ipgg.sbras.ru

The paper presents the results of a comprehensive study of the Lower Cretaceous section
in several boreholes from the west of Gydan
Peninsula, which is an area the least explored bydrilling within Western Siberia. The study isbased on sedimentological and palynologicalanalyses and interpretation of well-log data.
Some lithofacies corresponding to certain sedimentation environments as well as typicaltrends in the changes of lithofacies sequences,
fixing sedimentation cycles of different scales,
are determined.
The lower part of the Cretaceous section
consists of the Akhskaya Formation built on flatlying clinoforms. Thin pack (20–40 m) of Berriasian–Valanginian condensed deposits andmostly clayer Hauterivian sediments (up to
250 m) lies at its base. Taking into consideration
the lateral position of these sediments in clinoform structure, we can conclude that they wereformed at the foot or in the slope of “sedimentary” shelf. The base of the Hauterivian is studied in the core material from one of the boreholes. It is represented by black and brownish
mudstone interbedded with rare clayey siltstone. The rock is massive, with thin vague horizontal lamination and rare pyrite impregnations.
There is a level with trace fossils Phycosiphon.
According to lithological data, the formation ofthese deposits mainly occurred in the calm hydrodynamic environments, and silt only occasionally supplied from shallow water areas. Palynological data evidence the middle part ofneritic zone: palynological assemblages are
dominated by marine palynomorphs with
abundant dinocysts, mostly represented by thefamilies Gonyaulacaceae and Areoligeraceae.
The upper part of the Akhskaya Formationis composed of alternating silty claystone andsilty sandstone (beds BG12, BG19, few meters up
to 40 m) of mostly progradation structure. Core
material is represented by light gray finegrained sandstone and siltstone, often irregularinterbedded with mudstone characterising by

undulating and lenticular textures sometimes
disturbed by deformation. The typical feature is
the frequent active bioturbation. Carbonised
plant detritus rare occurs in core material. The
formation of these deposits occurred in the facies of periodic offshore progradation of coastal
sedimentary systems resulted in continuouschange from low-energy environments of moderately deep shelf to shallow shelf.
Palynological data show shallow water neritic zone. Palynological assemblages are constantly dominated by spores and pollen of terrestrial plants. Microphytoplankton is notabundant (5–20%) and mainly represented byprasinophytes Leiosphaeridia. There is a regressive trend upward in the section resulting in an
overall reduction of microphytoplankton, especially dinocysts represented here by taxa capableof surviving in coastal environment. These aremainly gonyaulacoid simple morphotypes of thegroup Escharisphaeridia–Sentusidinium and areoligerceous dinocysts (Circulodinium). Slight increases in the percentage and diversity of dinocysts indicate periodic short-term transgressions.
The composition of terrestrial palynomorphs shows that terrigenous material derived
from continental areas mainly occupied by coniferous forests with an admixture of ginkgoaleans growing in rather wet and warm-temperate
climate. Spore-pollen assemblages contain considerable percentages of poorly preserved saccate pollen of ancient coniferous plants (5–24%)
and Alisporites–Pseudopicea group (2–20%), as
well as Piceapollenites (1–8%) and Ginkgocycadophytus (2–7%). The pollen of Taxodiaceae is also
revealed (2–5%). Spore-pollen assemblages include many species widespread in Siberia andother Boreal regions: Protopinus subluteus, Pseudopicea magnifica, Piceapollenites mesophyticus andothers. Pollen of heirolepidiaceous conifers(Classopollis) regarded as an indicator of hot andarid climate, are not permanent component (0–4%) of palynological assemblages. Wet areas
near the sea coast and river shores apparently
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The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016

were mostly occupied by cyatheaceous and dipteridaceuos ferns: smooth trilete spores of Cyathidites–Biretisporites group are most abundant(12–41%). Its percentage increases in northernand northeastern boreholes, whereas coniferous
pollen is more typical for western regions. Heterogeneous composition of the main components of spore-pollen assemblages throughout
studied area can be explained by terrigenous
material supply from the areas with different
vegetation. Probable terrigenous supply from
northern or northwestern regions is evidenced
by insufficient quantity of gleicheniaceous ferns(2–7%). Its percentage in palynological assemblages of the Hauterivian and Barremian innortheastern regions of Western Siberia is very
low, while western regions are characterised by
its increased amount.
The Lower Tanopcha Subformation (Upper
Hauterivian–lowermost Aptian) is of 433–460 m
thick in the studied area. Its base is composed oflight grey fine-grained sandstone, silty to varying degrees, formed the beds BG10 (10–18 m)
and BG11 (18–29 m) of Late Hauterivian age.
Uneven low-angle and cross-undulating lamination is caused by disposal of clayey and carbonaceous material with frequent siderite inclusions. Sandy layers in this part of section weremainly formed in the environments of migrating
delta distributaries, and to a less extent in estuarine bars. Silty claystone is characterised by contorted texture and fine bioturbation, it contains
small detritus particles and siderite inclusions.
The formation of these sediments occurred in
the environments of delta plains and prodeltas.
The overlying layers of the Lower
Barremian (56–91 m, beds TP24–TP23) are represented by continental sediments mostly formed
as the filling of large alluvial channels. Core material mainly consists of light grey fine- and medium-grained sandstone with massive texture
and rare low-angle cross lamination due to disposal of plant detritus. The beds of silty claystone are less common, and they were apparently formed within alluvial floodplains.
The upper part of the Lower Tanopcha Subformation (beds TP15–TP22, the Upper
Barremian–Lower Aptian) is composed of finegrained and sometimes silty sandstone. Predominant textures are massive and cross-beddedwith rare current ripples, flaser and horizontal
68

lamination. The typical feature is plant detritus
with frequent siderite inclusions. There are somelevels with clayey and rarer carbonaceous intraclasts as well as contorted texture and trace fossils Skolithos and Ophiomorpha. The layers of silty
claystone separated sandy beds are often carbonaceous, they contain rather abundant root
plants and plant imprints of medium and wellpreservation. The areas of thin intercalation ofsiltstone and claystone exhibit contortion andrarer local erosion, and deformation under gravity loading. Siderite inclusions are common
here. The formation of the sediments from thispart of the section mainly occurred in the environments of delta complex. Sandstone was accumulated in fluvial deltaic arms, and siltstone
and claystone were deposited in delta plains often undergone waterlogging.
The Upper Tanopcha Subformation (509–556 m, Aptian) is represented by irregular alternation of sandstone and siltstone (beds TP1–
TP14, up to 102 m thick) with silty claystone andrare thin layers and lenses of coal. Core material
mainly consists of fine- and medium-grainedsandstones and rarer siltstone. Textures are
massive and cross-bedded due to accumulationof small and large particles of plant detritus
sometimes containing siderite inclusions. Wellpreserved plant fossils and several layers withclayey and carbonaceous intraclasts are revealed. The layers separated sandy beds aremostly composed of intercalation of clayey siltstone, claystone and clay. The typical features
are plant detritus, siderite concretions, root
plants and carbon-bearing inclusions. These sediments were formed within large alluvial plain
with meandering rivers. The upper part of theUpper Tanopcha Subformation (beds TA1–TP23 and separating layers) was accumulated in deltas and coastal marine environments. Their typical features are progradation character of sedimentary sequences, undulating lamination ofsilty and clayey layers including glauconite,
fragments of bivalve shells, and rare root plants.
Brackish or continental environments in the
Barremian and Aptian are confirmed by palynological data. Palynological assemblages containlow percentage of microphytoplankton mostly
represented by prasinophytes (Leiosphaeridia).
Small-scale transgressive events in the middle of
the Barremian and in some levels of the AptianCretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western Pacificare indicated by dinocysts. The spore-pollen data evidence gradual change of land vegetationon the areas of sediment source, that was causedby both evolutionary processes and changes inpalaeoenvironments. The quantity of taxodiaceous pollen increases from the Barremian to the
Aptian characterised by appearance of first angiosperms. Later, these palynomorphs gradually
become the main components in the Late Cretaceous plant communities. At the same time, in-creased abundance and diversity of schizaeaceous ferns in the Barremian could have been related to the development of the river networkand occurrences of wet, but drained areas with
sufficient light input along river shores. Gradually increased abundance of sphagnaceous
mosses in the uppermost Barremian and Aptian
may have been due to expansion of wetlands.
This is a contribution to the programs 30 and 43of the Presidium of the RAS and IGCP 608, 632.

69

The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016

Palynological study of intertrappean sediments in the central and eastern parts of
Deccan volcanic province of India to understand age and depositional environment
B. Samant, D. Yadav and D.M. Mohabey
PG Department of Geology, RTM Nagpur University, Law College Square, Amravati Road, Nagpur 440001, India;
e-mail: bandanabhu@gmail.com

The Deccan volcanic eruptions covering an
area of about 500.000 km2 with eruptive volumeof 1.3x106 km3 in western, central and southernpart of India in the Late Cretaceous–Early Paleocene are one of the largest volcanic eruptions in
the Earth’s history. Whether volcanism or
Chicxulub impact caused global mass extinction
at the Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) boundary is
still a matter of debate. However, recent studies
suggest that both volcanism and impact played
important role in global environmental deterioration (Schoene et al., 2014; Renne et al., 2015) inthe Late Cretaceous–Early Paleocene. If volcanism can cause global environmental changes,
then its impact on Indian subcontinent is expected to be pronounced due to its proximity tosource of eruption. We conducted palynologicalstudy of the intertrappean sediments in the adjoining eastern and southern parts of Deccan
volcanic province in the Yavatmal and Chandrapur districts of Maharashtra and the Rangareddy District of Telangana. The findings are
significant as the palynological information on
the intertrappean sediments from the present
study area is either absent or meager in comparison to the information on mega- and microflora
bearing intertrappean localities to the northeastern part of the Deccan volcanic province(DVP).
Flows in the Deccan volcanic province are
divided into four groups, namely Mandla and
Malwa groups to the north of Narmada River,
Satpura Group to the south of Narmada River
up to Tapti River, and Sahyadri Group to thesouth of Tapti River in the central and southernpart of DVP. The volcanic flows in the northwestern part are still unclassified (Nair andBhusari, 1991). The intertrappean sediments aremostly found in the fringe areas of the Deccan
volcanic sequence. The study of biota associatedwith intertrappean sediments is important toknow age, correlation and assessing impact of
volcanism in space and time.
70

Intertrappean deposits of the Chandrapur
and Yavatmal districts occur in the lowermost
Ajanta Formation of Sahyadri Group, and intertrappean sediments of Naskal and Rangpur in
Rangareddy District occur between the lower
flows of the Deccan volcanic sequence (DVS) in
the area. Eight intertrappean beds including six
beds in Yavatmal and Chandrapur districts(Shibla, Shankar lodi, Bari, Mauda, Maria patnam and Lendi gauda beds) and two beds in
Rangareddy District (Naskal and Rangpur beds)
were palynologically investigated. Out of these,
six intertrappean localities yielded palynoassemblage.
Palynoflora of Chandrapur–Yavatmal localities show presence of pollen grains of pteridophytes, gymnosperms, angiosperms, and fungal
spores. Pollen grains of Proxapertites operculatus,
Gabonisporis vigourouxii and Sparaganiaceaepollenites sp. are the dominating taxa. Incrotonipollis
neyvelii and Lygodiumsporites also form significant
member of these intertrappeans. The presence ofpalynotaxa such as Aquilapollenites bengalensis,
Gabonisporis vigourouxii, Sparganiaceaepollenites,
Jiangsupollis and Azolla cretacea suggests Maastrichtian age for these intertrappean. One intertrappean near village Shibla is rich in megaflora,
especially fossil woods of palms. Megaflora suchas roots of the family Cyperaceae, woods Ailanthoxylon indicum of the family Simaroubaceae
and seeds Indovitis chitaleyae of the family Vitaceae have been recorded from this intertrappean.
The palynoassemblage of Rangpur intertrappean
shows dominance of Sparganiaceaepollenites sp.
and Mulleripollis bolpurensis. Significantly,
Proxapertites operculatus form dominant taxa of
Chandrapur–Yavatmal intertrappean beds. Zetter et al. (2001) consider that pollen grains of
Proxapertites shows possible affinity with Araceae and it could be an herb living in coastal environment along the shores of river channels andlagoons. Singh et al. (2007) recorded pollen
grains of Proxapertites, Spinizonocolpites (Nypa)

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western Pacificand Lithopyrophysis from Naskal intertrappean.
Hence, data suggest possibility of existence of

estuarine or distant estuarine conditions in thispart of DVS.

References
Nair, K.K.K., Bhusari, B., 2001. Stratigraphy of Deccan
Traps: A review. Geol. Surv. India Spec. Publ. 64,
477–491.
Renne, P.R., Sprain, C.J., Richards, M.A., Self, S., Vanderkluysen, L., Pande, K., 2015. State shift in
Deccan volcanism at the Cretaceous–Paleogene
boundary, possibly induced by impact. Science350(6256), 76–78.
Schoene, B., Samperton, K.M., Eddy, M.P., Keller G.,
Adatte, T., Bowring, S.A., Khadri, S.F.R., Gertsch,B., 2014. U-Pb geochronology of the Deccan
Traps and relation to the end-Cretaceous mass
extinction. Science 347(6218), 182–184.
Singh, R.S., Kar, R., Prasad, G.V.R., 2006. Deccan intertrappean beds of Naskal, Rangareddi District,
Andhra Pradesh. Curr. Sci. 90, 1281–1285.
Zetter, R., Hesse, M., Frosch-Radivo, A., 2001. Early
Eocene zona-aperturate pollen grains of theProxapertites type with affinity to Araceae. Rev.
Palaeobot. Palynol. 117(4), 267–279.

71

The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016

The Cretaceous flora of Mongolia and its paleoenvironment
Uranbileg L.1, Ichinnorov N.1 and Eviikhuu A.2
1Institute of Paleontology and Geology, Mongolian Academy of Sciences, S. Danzan str. 3/1, Ulaanbaatar 15160, Mongolia;

e-mail: urnaa_paleo@yahoo.com
2Uyan Geo Resource LLC, Sambuu str. 13/2, Ulaanbaatar 15160, Mongolia

Introduction
In Central Asia, Mongolia is one of thecountries extremely rich in fossil flora. There arewidespread sediments that accumulated here
during the most geological stages and are determined by unique combinations of the stages’
own plants. The sediments containing Cretaceous plants are mainly restricted to Central andEastern Mongolia. Non-sufficient number offindings from the lower and middle parts of theUpper Cretaceous has been observed. In summary, more than 30 localities yielding remains ofCretaceous plants were identified in the country.
This abstract highlights the key results and briefsummary of the research works that focused onflora composition and paleoenvironment in the
Cretaceous in Mongolia.
Cretaceous flora
By the Early Cretaceous, paleogeographic
landscapes in regions of Mongolian Altai, Khangai, Huvsgul and Khentii were changed, and accumulation of sediments was generally directedfrom west to east, from southwest to northeast,and to latitudinal direction as it had been predominating in earlier periods. The most important event in the flora is that plants flourished and, moreover, ferns, some ofgymnosperms, lycopods were spreading; conifers reached their maximum development. First
information about Early Cretaceous plants ofMongolia was originally created as result ofThird Expedition into Central Asia by American
Museum of Natural History (Cockerell, 1924).
Later, the studies have been carried out by Neuburg (1932), Krassilov and Martinson (1982),
Jahnichen and Kahlert (1972), Vakhrameev(1988; Vakhrameev et al., 1970), Krassilov andMakulbekov (2003, 2004). Most significant worksummarizing Lower Cretaceous paleobotanicalstudies of Mongolia has been performed by
Krassilov (1979, 1985, 2003, 1982). Mongolian
paleobotanist Sodov (1980, 1981) and palynolo72

gist Ichinnorov (1995, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004,2012) were carrying out studies on leafy plants
and spore-pollens of Early Cretaceous flora ofMongolia, respectively; and they have participated in the classification of stratigraphic conclusions based on paleoflora of the certain period. Their research works were mainly carriedout to place labeled Gurvan-Ereen, BaruunErdene Mt., Böön-tsagaan Lake, Kholboot-Gol
River, Tsagaantsav, Shine-khudag, and Manlai.
According to Vakhrameev (1990), the Lower
Cretaceous floras of Mongolia are represented
by the following plants: maidenhair trees suchas ginkgoaleans Ginkgoites, Baiera, Sphenobaiera,
and Karkenia (seeds), bennettitaleans such as
Otozamites, Neozamites, Pterophyllum, Nilssoniopteria, and Cycadolepis, conifers such as Araucariamongolica, heyrolepids such as Brachyphyllum,and Podozamits, and ancient pine trees such as
Pseudolarix, Pityophyllum, Pityospermum, andSchizolepis.
Cretaceous flora of Mongolia contains thefollowing plants: Muscites ostracodiferus, Lycopodites falcatus, Equisetites lateralis, Limnothetis gobiensis, Limnoniobe insignis, Onychopsis psilotoides,
Karkenia mongolica, Cladophlebis denticulate, Pterophyllum burjense, P. sutchanense, P. angulatum,
Nilssoniopteris denticulata, Cycadolepis sp., Otozamites lacustris, Ginkgoites mongoliensis, Ginkgo sp.,Sphenobaiera ikorfatensis, S. altaica, Baierella hastate, Baiera manchurica, Leptostrobis sp., Hartzia
multifolia, Pheonicopsis angustifolia, Swedenborgia
junior, S. longilobia, Darneya angusta, Araucarites
mongolicus, Brachyphyllum densiramosum, B. sulcatum, Pseudolarix erensis, P. asiatica, Samaropsis aurita, S. sagittata, Schizolepis drepanoides, Willsiostrobus
latisaccus, Pityanthus microsaccus,
Gurvanella dictyopers, Erenia stenoptera, Tuphaera
fusiformis, Williamsonia whitbiensis, Arctopterissp., Naozamites vachrameevii, Adiantites kochibeanus, Sephalotaxopsis sp., Lobifolia ajakensis,
Araucaria gobiensis, Sequoia microlepis, and Cedrus
sp. Since the previous studies, the main results

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western Pacificof the studies that are conducted with participation of Mongolian scientists nowadays are briefly below.
Mongolian–Russian–Swedish joint researchworks are carried out on the Baganuur coalmine, Lake Böön-tsagaan, Bakhar Area,
Tsagaan-chikh, Zuunbayan and Baruunbayan
areas in Central and Southeastern Mongolia(Kodrul et al., 2012), achieving new results. During this study, regional distribution and some issues of stratigraphic boundaries and Cretaceous
paleogeography were clarified on the base of
newly discovered complex of Lower Cretaceous
plants in Central Mongolia (Vakhrameev, 1988,
1991; Vakhrameev et al., 1970). Within frame ofthe study, the plants which were found in markered sites of Central Mongolia are close to Cretaceous flora that has been found in Siberia; therefore, in terms of paleogeography, the Central
Mongolia rather belongs to Siberian-Canadian
Belt than to Euro-Sinian Belt. As a result of thestudies of spore-pollen assemblages of the
Zuunbayan and Baruunbayan formations, it was
concluded that studied areas belonged to Amur
Province, Siberia-Canadian Belt. It was also stated that warm and dry climate predominatedthere (Kodrul et al., 2012).
Mongolian–American joint research works.
The Shine-khudag markered flora site is locatedin Southern Mongolia. The paleofloras found at
the site were studied by famous Russian scientist V.A. Krassilov for many years, and his data
are being the markered studies for Cretaceous
plants of Mongolia. However, Mongolian–
American cooperating studies started only two
years ago. During these studies, most of plant
species that had been found and determined by
V.A. Krassilov, have been identified. Nonetheless, there is stated number of issues, which
need further classification. Now the main part ofthe expedition’s activity focuses on those flora
remnants which are contained in coal and studying them in details; this kind of research way isvery familiar worldwide, in last time. Also,
Mongolian–American joint research team pays
attention to investigation of seeds; researchworks are continuing in the sector.
Mongolian research team. One of the major
areas of the expedition’s study is brown coalmine site labeled Shivee-Ovoo in Central Mongolia. According to results of spore-pollen study(Ichinnnorov, 1995, 1996, 1999), the coal-bearing
sediments are belonged to the Aptian–Albian(Lower Cretaceous). Further studies should include research of megaflora and repeating ofspore-pollen studies and should elaborate on theage classification of the coal-bearing sediments.
At the moment, a number of remnants of fossil
plants, such as Sphenopteris, Onychopsis, Phoenicopsis, Pityophyllum and Ginkgoites, as well as
many kinds of seeds have been found at ShiveeOvoo, and the plants are considered to be Early
Cretaceous. The site has high potential for discovery of a number of interesting fossils in future. In the next stage, the repeating studies will
determine classification (based on compounds ofthe participating plants) of the complexes of coexisted flora that will be recovered from thecoal-bearing sediments.
Paleoenvironments
The climate was dry and warm during theearliest Early Cretaceous while the wet climate
predominated during the latest Early Cretaceous, causing formation of large caustobiolithic
deposits of brown coal and peats. Therefore, thepaleobotanic studies have importance to reveal
the spatial distribution and timing of Cretaceouscoal deposits in Mongolia. In the latest Early
Cretaceous, coal-bearing sediments were accumulated in the areas located at Dundgovi, Nyalga, Dornogovi, Tamtsagbulag, Bayantumen, in
the Onon-Balj Basin and Central Khalkha uplifted regions.
In general, during the Cretaceous Period,
cooler and wet climate was predominating (nottoo hot); although territory of low mountains
and plateaus were enlarged, in same time, valleys, hollows and intermontane troughs filledlarge territories, too.
Conclusion
It is significantly important to find out newplaces prospective for studies and to carry out
comparative studies of Cretaceous paleoenvironments and plant assemblages composed ofsimilar flora on certain coal-bearing basins ormine sites.
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The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016

Discontinuous euxinia during the early Aptian oceanic anoxic event (OAE 1a):A case study from the Russian Platform
S.O. Zorina and O.V. Pavlova
Kazan Federal University, Kremlyovskaya str. 4, Kazan 420008, Russia; e-mail: svzorina@yandex.ru

The Cretaceous is marked by several episodes of widespread anoxia in the oceans, resulted in black shale deposits known as Oceanic
Anoxic Events (OAE) (Schlanger and Jenkyns,
1976). Extremely warm paleotemperatures connected to a global sea-level highstand such as in
the early Aptian support the idea of glacioeustasy even during hot greenhouse phases ofEarth climate (e.g., Sames et al., 2016).
Bituminous shales interbedded by concretionary limestones (“Aptian Slab”) which accumulated in the shallow epicontinental sea on the
Russian Platform are widely interpreted as being a regional manifestation of the global anoxic
episode OAE la (Gavrilov et al., 2002; Zorina,
2016; Zakharov et al., 2013).
The studied “Tatar-Shatrashany” borehole
section is located on the Russian Platform. During the Early Aptian, this site belonged to thenorthern-eastern part of the Peri-Tethys, being
situated within a sea-strait connecting the Tethys Ocean with the Boreal-Arctic Sea. The Lower Aptian strata reported to correlate with OAE
1a (Gavrilov et al., 2002; Zorina, 2016) include bituminous shales (“Aptian Slab”), 4.2 m in thickness consist of dark brown thin-laminated siltstones and clays (1–5 mm thick) cemented bypyrite. The value of TOC in the bituminous shales
from the “Tatar-Shatrashany” section is 7.55%.
Importantly, BF have not been found in thebituminous shales. The bedding surfaces arecovered by numerous ammonites from the Deshayesites volgensis Zone and embrional ammonite
conchs. Upward the section, a level of the lightconcretionary massive limestone, 0.8 m thick is
traced at a distance of more than hundred kilometers (Gavrilov et al., 2002; Zorina, 2016).
The SEM study and microprobe analyzes
undertaken at the Institute of Geology and Petroleum Technologies of Kazan Federal University (the Research Analyst B. Galiullin) revealed
that the strata corresponding to the OAE1a arerepresented by two lithological types – bituminous micaceous clayey siltstone and concretion74

ary limestone. The first one includes homogeneous dense flaky aggregate of chlorite andmontmorillonite (Fig. 1A) with rare plant debris
and pyrite framboids. The energy-dispersive
spectrum of the pyrite framboid in the bituminous siltstone shows a high value of carbon(50%). The size of framboid is about 8 µm.
First appearance of foraminifera from theLower
AptianMjatliukaena
aptiensis–
Haplophragmoides aptiensis Zone is about 10 m
below the base of the bituminous shales. The
whole complex of this zone is fully restored directly above the bituminous shale and it becomes even more numerous.
Noteworthy, lamination caused by quiet
depositional conditions and the lack of bioturbation (Oschmann, 2011) means the termination of
the sea currents, sudden appearance of euxinic
conditions leading to stratiphying water column
and preventing organic matter from dissolution.
Pyrite framboids are raspberry-shaped,
spherical aggregates (2–50 µm in diameter) thatconsist of cubo-octahedron to octahedron, equimorphic microcrystals (0.5–2 µm) (Cavalazzi etal., 2014; Park et al., 2003). Pyrite framboids arevery common component for black shales being
formed in weakly reducing euxinic conditions as
synsedimentary precipitates due to bacteriallydriven iron- and sulfate-reduction (Cavalazzi etal., 2014; Wignall et al., 2005).
There is no agreement on the origin of pyrite framboids, probably because they could beformed under different environmental conditions. We adhere to the hypothesis suggested thepossibility of magnetotactic bacteria containing
ferromagnetic sulphides (Sawlowicz, 1993). Farina et al. (1990) showed that a colony of magnetotactic bacteria is similar to framboids in appearance and size (5–10 µm).
As homogenization of framboids usually
spreads from the centre to the surface of thespherules, organic matter and clayey particles
may be captured as inclusions (Sawlowicz,1993).

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western PacificThis probably explains a high value of C
(50%), the presence of Si, Al, Na and Ca in theenergy dispersive spectra taken from the pyrite
framboid of the studied bituminous shale(Fig. 1A).
Pyrite framboids evidently indicate the euxinic (sulfidic) condition (Meyer and Kump, 2008)
with increased organic matter preservation. So,
it is more correct to speak not about anoxia inthe basin, but about euxinia, a state with toxic
levels of hydrogen sulfide concentrations.
The intercalations of concretionary limestones underlying and overlying by the bituminous shales are of great interest. They are composed of assemblage of well-preserved skeletonsof coccoliths from the Lower Aptian Rhagodiscus
angustus NC7 nannofossil Zone (Fig. 1B, C)(Bralower et al., 1995).

Fig. 1. (А) SEM images and energy-dispersive spectra of the Lower Aptian rocks from the “Tatar-Shatrashany” section. Plant particle (Pla) and pyrite framboid (Pyr) in the carbonate clayey matrix of the bituminous shale. (В, C) SEM
images of the limestone with well preserved coccolith skeletons.
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The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016

These limestones indicate that the OAE 1aon the Russian Platform was heterogeneous. The
total euxinia had been interrupted by a short episode of rapid oxidization, and restoration of
normal marine conditions. At that time there

had been a sharp increase in bioefficiency of nanoplankton. But stagnation and euxinity havebeen recovered as quickly as they stopped. Thisis evidenced by the renewed accumulation of bituminous shales overlying limestones.

References
Bralower, T.J., Leckie, R.M., Sliter, W.V., Thierstein,H.R., 1995. An integrated Cretaceous microfossil
biostratigraphy. SEPM Spec. Publ. 54, 65–79.
Cavalazzi, B., Agangi, A., Barbieri, R., Franchi, F.,
Gasparotto, G., 2014. The formation of lowtemperature sedimentary pyrite and its relationship with biologically-induced processes. Geology of oil deposits 56, 395–408.
Farina, F., Esquivel, D.M.S., Lins de Barros, H.G.P.,
1990. Magnetic iron-sulphur crystals from amagnetotactic microorganism. Nature 343, 256–
258.
Gavrilov, Yu.O., Shchepetova, E.V., Baraboshkin,
E.Yu., Shcherbinina, E.A., 2002. The Early Cretaceous anoxic basin of the Russian Plate: Sedimentology and geochemistry. Lithol. Miner. Resour. 37(4), 310–329.
Meyer, K.M., Kump, L.R., 2008. Oceanic euxinia inEarth history: Causes and consequences. Ann.
Rev. Earth Planet. Sci. 36, 251–88.
Oschmann, W., 2011. Black shales, in: Reitner, J.,
Thiel, V. (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Geobiology.
Springer Science+Business Media B.V., Dordrecht, pp. 201–210.
Park, M.-H., Kim, I.-S., Ryu, B.-J., 2003. Framboidal
pyrites in late Quaternary core sediments of theEast Sea and their paleoenvironmental implications. Geosci. J. 7(3), 209–215.

76

Sames, B., Wagreich, M., Wendler, J.E., Haq, B.U.,
Conrad, C.P., Melinte-Dobrinescu, M.C., Hu, X.,
Wendler, I., Wolfgring, E., Yilmaz, I.Ö., Zorina,
S.O., 2016. Review: Short-term sea-level changes
in a greenhouse world – A view from the Cretaceous. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol.
441(3), 393–411.
Sawlowicz, Z., 1993. Pyrite framboids and their development: a new conceptual mechanism. Geol.
Rundschau 82, 148–156.
Schlanger, S.O., Jenkyns, H.C., 1976. Cretaceous oceanic anoxic events: Causes and consequences.
Geol. Mijnbouw 55, 179–184.
Wignall, P.B., Newton, R., Brookfield, M.E., 2005. Pyrite framboid evidence for oxygen poor deposition during the Permian–Triassic crisis in Kashmir. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol.
216, 183–88.
Zakharov, Yu.D., Baraboshkin, E.Yu., Weissert, H.,
Michailova, I.A., Smyshlyaeva, O.P., Safronov,
P.P., 2013. Late Barremian–early Aptian climateof the northern middle latitudes: Stable isotope
evidence from bivalve and cephalopod molluscsof the Russian Platform. Cretaceous Res. 44, 183–
201.
Zorina, S.O., 2016. Sea-level and climatic controls on
Aptian depositional environments of the Eastern
Russian Platform. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol.
Palaeoecol. 441(3), 599–609.

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western PacificSession 4
Cretaceous stratigraphy and sedimentology

Chronostratigraphy of the Jurassic–Cretaceous lacustrine deposits in southeast
Mongolia: Brief results of Japan–Mongolia Joint research project
H. Ando1, H. Hasegawa2, Ichinnorov N.3, N. Hasebe4, T. Ohta5, T. Hasegawa6,
M. Yamamoto7, G.B. Li8, Erdenetsogt B.9 and U. Heimhofer10
1Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Science, Ibaraki University, Mito 310-8512, Japan; e-mail: hisao.ando.sci@vc.ibaraki.ac.jp
2Nagoya University Museum, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan
3Paleontological Center, Mongolian Academy of Sciences, Ulaanbaatar 210351, Mongolia
4Division of Earth Environmental Technology, Kanazawa University, Ishikawa 920-1192, Japan
5Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Education and Integrated Arts and Sciences, Waseda University, Tokyo 169-8050, Japan
6Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Science, Kanazawa University, Ishikawa 920-1192, Japan
7Faculty of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan
8Nanjing Institutes of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Science, Nanjing 210008, China
9Department of Geology and Geophysics, National University of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar 13320, Mongolia
10Institute of Geology, Leibniz University Hannover, D-30167 Hannover, Germany

Lower Cretaceous lacustrine oil shale deposits (Shinekhudag Formation) are widely distributed in southeastern Mongolia. Their highorganic carbon content has motivated many geochemical and petroleum exploratory studies.
Most of the lacustrine oil shales are considered
to be of Early Cretaceous age, but our recent
studies revealed that some of them are of Middle Jurassic age (Li et al., 2014). Thus, the present study aims are to explore the spatial andtemporal distribution of the Mongolian oil
shales, establishing the chronostratigraphy of
the Jurassic–Cretaceous lacustrine deposits in
Mongolia. This study has been conducted as theJapan–Mongolia–China joint researches since2009 (Ando et al., 2011; Hasegawa et al., inpress).
The Shinekhudag Formation (250 m thick)exposed in the Shine Khudag (type) area of
Shaazangiin Gobi region below the fluviolacustrine Tsagantsav Formation and above thecoal-bearing fluvial Khuhuteg Formation is
studied to cover the majority of terrestrial sequences for constructing a composite section(Jerzykiewicz and Russell, 1991; Hasegawa et al.,2012).
The Middle Jurassic lacustrine deposits ofthe Eedemt Formation encompass alternating
shale, dolomitic marl, siltstone and sandstone

beds. In the type locality of the Khootin Khotogor area, the 150 m thick Eedemt Formation
overlies the coal-bearing fluvial deposits of the
Khootin Khotogor Formation.
To establish the chronostratigraphy of theselacustrine deposits, fission-track and U–Pb age
dating of zircon in intercalated tuff and K–Ar
age dating of intercalated basalt were conducted. Based on that radiometric age dating, theShinekhudag Formation is considered to be deposited between ca. 123–119 Ma (Early Aptian),
while the Eedemt Formation straddles 165 Ma or
the late Middle Jurassic.
The Shinekhudag Formation is composed
mainly of alternating beds of dark greyish paper
shale (oil shale), greyish calcareous shale, lightgreyish dolomitic marl, and yellowish to brownish dolomite. The shale and dolomite successions are rhythmically alternated (decimeter-,meter-, tens of meter-scale), possibly controlled
by orbitally driven changes in lake level andlake productivity changes reflecting precipitation changes. Paper shale contains micrometerscale laminations (ca. 60–100 µm thick), which
are most likely of varve origin. Fluorescent microscopic inspection reveals that they are composed of repetitive couplets of algal organic matter-rich and detrital mineral-rich lamina. The
estimated sedimentation rate is ca. 6.3–12.5
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The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016

cm/k.y. by the varve-counting methods on thinsections. Thus, the Shinekhudag Formation has
a potential to record the annual-scale climaticchange and seasonal changes in mid-latitude
Asia during the Aptian time. To obtain the continuous paleoclimatic record of this unique lacustrine deposit, we have drilled two scientificresearch cores (CSH01, 02) in Shine Khudag areain 2013 and 2014 summer seasons. CSH01 core is
150 m long and covers the lower to middle partof the formation. CSH02 core is 192 m long andcovers the middle to upper part of the formation.
In order to clarify the depositional environments and the controlling factors for therhythmically alternating lithofacies changes, we
conducted XRD analysis, elemental analysis (C,N, S), Rock-Eval pyrolysis, and a quantitative
study of palynofacies to evaluate the organic
matter (OM) composition. The mineral composition results confirmed the cyclic alternations (ca.
1.5 m cycle) of dolomite abundant layers and detritus minerals and calcite rich layers. C/N values are significantly low (<10) in the dolomite
samples and higher (>15) in shale samples.
Rock-Eval analysis shows significantly high hydrogen index (>650 mg/g) with relatively high T-

max values (430–440°C), and all the samples arecomposed of Type I–II OM. Palynofacies analysis further indicated the dominance of Botryococcus colonies in dolomite layers, whereas shale
layers are abundant in amorphous OM, algal
cysts, and terrestrial palynomorphs.
Therefore, the dolomite layers are inferred
to be formed during low lake levels by microbially mediated precipitation in highly alkalinelake waters. Botryococcus colonies were abundant under such oligotrophic and euryhalineconditions. On the other hand, the shale layers
were deposited during high lake levels, whichwere characterized by higher algal productivity
and increased inputs of detrital minerals.
Both of the Jurassic–Cretaceous lacustrine
oil shale deposits took place in intra-continental
rift basins at middle latitude of the paleo-Asian
continent. Although basin evolution tectonics
may have been involved in the deposition ofthese lacustrine oil shale, it is enhanced precipitation under a humid climatic setting during the
Early Aptian and the late Middle Jurassic times
that is more likely to be a key factor in the widespread occurrence of lacustrine environments insoutheast Mongolia.

References
Ando, H., Hasegawa, H., Hasegawa, T., Ohta, T.,
Yamamoto, M., Hasebe, N., Li, G., Ichinnorov,N., 2011. Jurassic–Cretaceous lacustrine deposits
in the East Gobi Basin, southeast Mongolia. J.
Geol. Soc. Japan. 117, XI–XII.
Hasegawa, H., Ando, H., Hasebe, N., Ichinnorov, N.,
Ohta, T., Hasegawa, T., Yamamoto, M., Li, G.,
Erdenetsogt, B., Murata, T., Shinya, H., Enerel, G.,
Oyunjargal, G., Munkhtsetseg, O., Buyantegsh, B.,
Enkhbat, D., Suzuki, N., Irino, T., Yamamoto, K.,
Kouchi, Y., Orihashi, Y., Heimhofer, U., in press.
Island Arc.
Hasegawa, H., Tada, R., Jiang, X., Suganuma, Y., Imsamut,S., Charusiri, P., Ichinnorov, N., Khand, Y., 2012.

78

Drastic shrinking of the Hadley circulation during
the mid-Cretaceous Supergreenhouse. Clim. Past
8, 1323–1337.
Jerzykiewicz, T., Russell, D.A., 1991. Late Mesozoic
stratigraphy and vertebrates of the Gobi Basin.
Cretaceous Res. 12, 345–377.
Li, G., Ando, H., Hasegawa, H., Yamamoto, M.,
Hasegawa, T., Ohata, T., Hasebe, N., Ichinnorov,N., 2014. Confirmation of a Middle Jurassic age
for the Eedemt Formation in Dundgobi Province,
southeast Mongolia: Constraints from the discovery of new spinicaudatans (clam shrimps).
Alcheringa 38, 305–316.

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western Pacific

Supersequenses in the Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous of Western Siberia
A.L. Beisel
Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics, Siberian Branch of RAS, Acad. Koptyug av. 3, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia;
e–mail: beiselal@ipgg.sbras.ru

There are very different stereotypes in thedevelopment of stratigraphic schemes of the Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous of Western Siberia
due to both objective and subjective reasons.
However, these categories are difficult in somecases. The West Siberian stratigraphic scheme of
the Jurassic reflects the structure of the incisions,but the Cretaceous scheme is built largely on biostratigraphic basis.
It should be noted that during the comparative analysis of the structure of the sections, weneed to adhere to a unified perspective on a key
mechanism of formation of the sedimentary cycles, as they can be different in the Jurassic andLower Cretaceous. According to the author, thatmechanism is the geographical conversion cycles of relief – rejuvenation due to tectonic activity and subsequent smoothing by exogenous
processes. Regarding the sedimentary basins, it
is expressed in periodic subsidence of the seabedand the subsequent filling of the formed containers by the sediments. Thus, the sedimentary
cycles have the tectono-sedimentary nature. Thismechanism is characteristic of the entire sedimentary cover, including the Lower Cretaceouspart of the section.
The formation of regular tectonic–
sedimentary cycles in the pool occurred in theJurassic. The lower part of these cycles is represented by clayey rocks, and the upper part consists of sandy sediments substantially composedof cyclites of a lower order. Alternating clayey
and sandy strata are the basis for the allocationof regional lithostratigraphic units, the horizons.
In the transitional Jurassic–Cretaceous interval, there is a continuous succession of threeclayey horizons: Georgievka, Bazhenovo horizons, and unnamed Lower Cretaceous clayey
strata located between the Bazhenovo Horizon
and so-called ‘offshore’ Neocomian sandstones.
The Cretaceous Kulomzino, Tara, etc. horizons
allocated here have a completely different meaning in comparison to the preceding horizons anddo not reflect the structure of the section.

Notable ‘violations’ in the work of themechanism of cyclogenesis are obviously associated with widespread boreal transgression begun in the end of the Bathonian and in the Callovian. This marine transgression has evolved inseveral stages, reaching a maximum at theKimmeridgian–Volgian boundary. It was followed by general regression, which was slow in
the Volgian and became more rapid in the Early
Cretaceous, reaching its maximum in the Valanginian–Early Hauterivian. In this case, the Bazhenovo Horizon composed of oil shales occurs
in the initial step of the regression. The Volgianis overall regressive, as it is evidenced by thestudy of the outcrops and well sections in different regions of Western Siberia.
Clinoform complex of the Lower Cretaceousof Western Siberia is traditionally displayed as
an expressive series of clinoforms, which are
limited by the top of the Bazhenovo Horizon in
the lower part, while the upper part of clinoform
complex is less certain. In western regions, westerly-dipping clinoforms meet the opposite
branch of easterly-dipping clinoforms, and eastern regions are characterized by uncertain structure. Clinoform stratum of transitional zone ischaracterized by different structure, which ispoorly studied.
By analyzing the Lower Cretaceous clinoforms of the Yenisei-Khatanga trough, V.A.
Kontorovich et al. (2014) identify the southernboundary of the area with clinoform structureand define the area, where the clinoforms are absent. The width of this region is of hundreds ofkilometers. Structure of the sections in the margins of the trough is shown by the author (Beisel,2014) on the example of the reference Lower Cretaceous section situated on the Boyarka River(south margin of the Khatanga depression). In
general, the section is represented by parasequences that become more clear in the upper partof the section. Their hierarchical order corresponds to the West Siberian clinoforms that isproved by the coincidence of their number (about
15 in the Valanginian–Lower Hauterivian).
79

The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016

Fig. 1. Suresequenses in the Kharampurskaya-314 Well section (NE Western Siberia), based on well log data.
1 – predominantly sand, 2 – silt, 3 – clay, 4 – oil shale.
80Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western PacificThus, clinoforms were formed in relatively
deep-water part of the basin, and ordinary parasequences occur in the coastal zone. Anotherimportant feature of the reference section on theBoyarka River is the absence of the progradationof coastal facies. This section was formed in 15
km from the paleocoast characterizing by permanent location during the Neocomian.
In Western Siberia, there are three supersequences in the Upper Jurassic and lower part of
the Lower Cretaceous: the Vasyugan, Georgievka–Bazhenovo and Megion supersequences(Fig. 1). The last two supersequences are proposed for the first time. The boundary between
the second and third supersequences presumably corresponds to the Berriasian–Valanginianboundary. In northern Siberia, this boundary is
characterized by some features evidencing on amajor geological event, which was accompanied

by erosion of the Upper Jurassic rocks, changing
of sedimentation conditions, etc.
Thus, the analysis of section structure
shows that there is no fundamental difference
between the Lower Cretaceous and Jurassic in
Western Siberia. Here, the formation of sequences and parasequences is related to the cycles of rejuvenation and smoothing of the relief.
A prominent episode of rejuvenation of the relief occurred in the Neocomian, near the Berriasian–Valanginian boundary, and was followedby the formation of a new transgressiveregressive cycle with the layers of clay at thebottom and at the top of progradational sandstone. The Georgievka–Bazhenovo and Megion
supersequences have not been previously defined, because their boundaries are regarded aschanging in time. However, it is not confirmedby reliable biostratigraphic data.
This is a contribution to the IGCP608 and program 43 of the Presidium of the RAS.

References
Beisel, A.L., 2014. The value of the reference sectionsof the Lower Cretaceous of Siberia in theknowledge of the clinoform structure of the Neocomian of Western Siberia, in: Baraboshkin,
E.Yu., et al. (Eds.), Cretaceous System of Russia
and the near abroad: problems of stratigraphy
and paleogeography. Proceedings of the 7th
Russian Scientific Conference with international

participation (September 10–15, 2014, Vladivostok). Dalnauka, Vladivostok, pp. 52–54 (in Russian).
Kontorovich, V.A., Lapkovski, V.V., Lunev, B.V.,
2014. Model of formation of the Neocomian clinoform complex, West Siberian oil and gas province, taking into account isostasy. Oil Gas Geol.
1, 65–72 (in Russian).

81

The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016

The Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary in the Asian part of Russia
O.S. Dzyuba1 and B.N. Shurygin1,2
1Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics, Siberian Branch of RAS, Acad. Koptyug av. 3, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia;

e-mail: dzyubaos@ipgg.sbras.ru
2Novosibirsk State University, Pirogova str. 2, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia

The Global Stratotype Section and Point(GSSP) for the Berriasian, the basal stage of theCretaceous, is currently under examination by
the International Subcommission on Cretaceous
Stratigraphy (ISCS) and the ISCS BerriasianWorking Group. Marine sections in Tethys are
only considered for the definition of the Jurassic–Cretaceous (J–K) boundary. These sections,especially in western Tethys, are easily accessible and highly fossiliferous, and they were intensively studied during the last decades. However, a small number of continuous, noncondensed J–K sections, which are also to be
characterised by palaeontological and nonpalaeontological key markers, is still a problem
for formal Berriasian GSSP proposal.
The traditional J–K boundary, which was
defined by the first appearance of ammonite
Berriasella jacobi in the West Mediterranean region (Flandrin et al., 1975), gradually loses its
defining value owing to widespread endemismin ammonites and their scarcity in the J–K transition beds at many sites. Therefore, other events(not only biological, but also physical and chemical) have been analysed as potential primaryand supporting markers of the J–K boundary.
Many efforts were made by Russian stratigraphers to search for the most preferable levelor, at least, interval for determination of the Berriasian GSSP (for references see Zakharov, 2011;
Guzhikov, 2013; Arkadiev et al., 2014; Shurygin
and Dzyuba, 2015). Recently it was concluded
that the least interval of the uncertainty of theposition of the J–K boundary in Siberian andsome other sections will be ensured by the selection of one of two markers: biostratigraphic(base of the Grandis Subzone) or magnetostratigraphic (base of the M18r). Both these markers
are located within the upper part of the Upper
Volgian, close to several other important markers: the Brodno (M19n.r1) Subzone, the widely
traceable positive δ13C excursion, and theboundary between the Craspedites taimyrensis
82

and Chetaites chetae ammonite zones. In Siberia,
the uncertainty interval is quite narrow, corresponding to the upper part of the C. taimyrensis
Zone – a cointerval of this zone with the Arctoteuthis tehamaensis belemnite Zone (Shurygin
and Dzyuba, 2015). However, the separation of
the Jacobi and Grandis subzones is still difficultin practice, and neither the base of the Grandis
Subzone nor the base of M18r is supported bymajority of members of the Berriasian WG as a
primary marker (Wimbledon, 2016).
Despite controversies, the position of the J–K
boundary at the base of the Calpionella alpina
Subzone (i.e., at the base of the Calpionella Zone)
is currently largely accepted. The boundary falls
in the pre-Brodno part of M19n, commonly inthe middle part of M19n.2n, and is constrainedby the FADs of some nannofossil species. In Boreal regions, this level falls within the middle
part of the Upper Volgian (see Shurygin andDzyuba, 2015). C. alpina, mostly large forms ofthis species is a common element of the Tithonian Crassicollaria Zone, while the boundary between the Crassicollaria and Calpionella zones isdefined by an ‘explosion’ event in abundance ofsmall globular C. alpina. According to Michalík
and Reháková (2011), this event was soon followed by the onset of the monospecific C. alpina
association that is the reflection of environmental instability related to eustatic lowering of thesea level.
The Boreal–Tethyan correlation of the J–K
boundary interval is a stratigraphic problem thatcannot be solved solely by using the biostratigraphic method. This problem is rooted in thefact that the latest Jurassic and earliest Cretaceous was a time of extreme differences between
the Boreal and Tethyan marine biota. As a result,the Tithonian and Berriasian stages, which are
between the Kimmeridgian and Valanginian
stages, are assigned to the Tethyan scale, while
the Volgian and Ryazanian stages are assigned
to the Boreal scale. Unlike the Tithonian–Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western Pacific

Berriasian boundary, only the Volgian–Ryazanian boundary in Boreal sections has reliable bioevent markers. In Siberia, it was assigned to the base of the Chetaites sibiricus or
Praetollia maynci ammonite zones.
The J–K boundary deposits are observed ina huge territory of the Asian part of Russia,
mainly in its northern and eastern regions.
These deposits are dominated by terrigenous
rocks of marine and continental geneses, which
are of very different lithologic compositions; but
in eastern areas of Russia, the siliceousterrigenous and volcano-siliceous deposits arealso developed. Typically ‘Boreal’ fossils characterise the J–K boundary beds in Siberia and major part of the Russian Far East; only a few‘Tethyan’ fossils have been recorded from theSouthern Primorye and Sikhote-Alin.
The best integrated stratigraphic study of
the J–K boundary interval in the Asian part ofRussia was performed for the Nordvik section
located in northern East Siberia. Here, the J–K
boundary beds contain ammonites, belemnites,
bivalves, foraminifers and dinocysts, which provide a precise biostratigraphy for the section(Zakharov et al., 2014). Both δ13C and δ18O
curves have been reconstructed for the J–K
boundary interval of the Nordvik section(Dzyuba et al., 2013; Zakharov et al., 2014).
Moreover, a continuous succession of magnetozones from M20n to M16r, including two important subzones (M20n.1r, the Kysuca Subzone,
and M19n.1r, the Brodno Subzone), was established here (Houša et al., 2007; Bragin et al.,2013). Chrons M19n to M17r reveal apparently
lower sedimentation rates (up to 0.5–2.0 m/m.y.)comparable to those from ammonitico rosso facies (Bragin et al., 2013; Wierzbowski andGrabowski, 2013).
Note that the most of magnetozone M19n in
the Nordvik section belongs to an ammonitefree interval (Rogov et al., 2015; Schnabl et al.,2015). Only one biostratigraphic marker, thebase of the Arctoteuthis tehamaensis belemnite
Zone was undoubtedly recorded within M19n,
close to the middle part of M19n.2n (see Shurygin and Dzyuba, 2015). However, it cannot be
excluded that the base of the Craspedites taimyrensis ammonite Zone is also close to this level, but this issue needs further investigation. The
middle part of M19n.2n does not show any iso-

topic events, while two significant positive δ13C
excursions have been established at Nordvik.
The first excursion was defined in M20n1n, andthe second positive event marks M19n–M18r
transition (Dzyuba et al., 2013).
In Western Siberia, the most stratigraphically-complete section spanning the J–K boundary
is located in the foothills of the Northern Urals
on the Maurynya River. Ammonite-based andbelemnite-based biostratigraphy, and highresolution C- and O-isotope stratigraphy havebeen clarified for the Maurynya section. The
δ13C values in the section show two large positive excursions (Dzyuba et al., 2013). The firstexcursion found in the lowermost part of thesection is well correlated with the positive excursion defined within M20n1n of northern East
Siberia (Dzyuba et al., 2013; Zakharov et al.,2014) and Tethys (Weissert et al., 2008). The second excursion found within the Craspedites taimyrensis Zone corresponds to the positive excursion recognised near the boundary of
M19n−M18r in northern East Siberia. Additionally, the first Sr isotope data were recently reported from the Maurynya section (Izokh et al.,2015).
The J–K boundary beds at Maurynya have
not yet received the palaeomagnetic characteristics, and Arctoteuthis tehamaensis belemnite has
not been found here. The position of the J–K
boundary can be provisionally defined at thebase of the Simobelus compactus belemnite beds
(age analogue of the A. tehamaensis Zone), between two positive δ13C excursions but closer toupper one.
In the northeastern Russia, there are a number of sites with continuous J–K transition successions (Burgakhchan, Bannaya, Tantyn, Ilguveem, and Perevalnaya rivers, etc.), where
biostratigraphic frame is based mainly on Buchia(Paraketsov and Paraketsova, 1989). Amongammonites, only Chetaites sp. has been foundhere within the interval under consideration(Pezhenka River). All these sections were notrestudied during a long time mainly because of
their inaccessibility. Magneto- and chemostratigraphic works have not been conducted here atall. The J–K boundary is within the wide ranging
Buchia terebratuloides–B. tenuicollis Zone (Upper
Volgian–lowermost Ryazanian).
83

The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016

In the Russian Far East, the Komsomolsk
section located in the Northern Sikhote-Alin isalso mainly characterised by Buchia-based biostratigraphic succession (Urman et al., 2014).
The J–K boundary is within the wide ranging
Buchia unschensis–B. terebratuloides beds (uppermost Upper Volgian–lowermost Ryazanian),
which also yield ammonite Pseudosubplanites?
sp. of Tethyan affinity.
Integrated bio- and magnetostratigraphic
study of the J–K boundary in the Russian Far
East was recently performed for the Chigan section, Southern Primorye (Guzhikov et al., 2016).
Several Tethyan ammonites, characteristic for
the Jacobi Zone, are known from this section:
Dalmasiceras orientale, Berriasella cf. jacobi, B. ex
gr. jacobi, Pseudosubplanites cf. combesi, P. aff.
combesi, and P. cf. grandis. Investigations show
the possibility of obtaining of palaeomagnetic

data, but the presence of magnetozone M19n
was not established in this section with certainty. Boreal bivalves (Buchia) and foraminifers
have been revealed here, and palynological objects (pollen and spores, dinocysts, etc.) were also studied. However, the real stratigraphic
ranges of all these fossils in the section need further investigation.
Thus, the J–K boundary defined in Tethys
by the morphological change of Calpionella alpina
cannot be strictly recognised in the Asian part ofRussia. The problem of identification of approximate position of this level can be solved only
using a combination of data obtained by palaeontological and non-palaeontological methodsof stratigraphy.
This is a contribution to the IGCP608 and programs 30 and 43 of the Presidium of the RAS.

References
Arkadiev, V.V., Baraboshkin, E.Yu., Guzhikov, A.Yu.,
2014. About Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary, in:Baraboshkin, E.Yu., et al. (Eds.), Cretaceous System of Russia and the near abroad: problems ofstratigraphy and paleogeography. Proceedingsof the 7th Russian Scientific Conference with international participation. Dalnauka, Vladivostok,
pp. 27–30 (in Russian).
Bragin, V.Yu., Dzyuba, O.S., Kazansky, A.Yu., Shurygin, B.N., 2013. New data on the magnetostratigraphy of the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary interval, Nordvik Peninsula (northern East
Siberia). Russ. Geol. Geophys. 54, 329–342.
Dzyuba, O.S., Izokh, O.P., Shurygin, B.N., 2013. Carbon isotope excursions in Boreal Jurassic–
Cretaceous boundary sections and their correlation potential. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 381–382, 33–46.
Flandrin, J., Schaer, J.P., Enay, R., Remane, J., Rio, M.,
Kubler, B., Le Hégarat, G., Mouterde, R., Thieuloy, J.P., 1975. Discussion générale préliminaire
au dépôt des motions. Colloque sur la limite Jurassique–Crétacé, Lyon–Neuchâtel, September
1973. Mém. B.R.G.M. 86, pp. 386–393.
Guzhikov, A.Yu., 2013. Solving unsolvable problems
in stratigraphy. Russ. Geol. Geophys. 54, 349–
354.
Guzhikov, A.Yu., Arkadiev, V.V., Baraboshkin, E.Yu.,
Feodorova, A.A., Shurekova, O.V., Baraboshkin,E.E., Manikin, A.G., Golozubov, V.V., Kasatkin,
S.A., Nechaev, V.P., 2016. New bio- and magnetostratigraphic data at the Jurassic–Cretaceous
boundary of the Chigan Сape (Vladivostok re84

gion, Russia), in: Michalík, J., Fekete, K. (Eds.),
XIIth Jurassica, IGCP 632 and ICS Berriasianworkshop: Field Trip Guide and Abstracts Book.
ESI SAS, Bratislava, pp. 101–104.
Houša, V., Pruner, P., Zakharov, V.A., Kostak, M.,
Chadima, M., Rogov, M.A., Šlechta, S., Mazuch,M., 2007. Boreal–Tethyan correlation of the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary interval by magneto- and biostratigraphy. Stratigr. Geol. Correl. 15,
297–309.
Izokh, O.P., Kuznetsov, A.B., Dzyuba, O.S., Kosenko,
I.N., Shurygin, B.N., 2015. Short-term perturbations of marine 87Sr/86Sr near the Jurassic–
Cretaceous boundary in the Maurynya Section,
West Siberia: Potential causes and correlativevalue. Ber. Inst. Erdwiss. K.-F.-Univ. Graz 21,
181.
Michalík, J., Reháková, D., 2011. Possible markers of
the Jurassic/Cretaceous boundary in the Mediterranean Tethys: A review and state of art. GSF
2(4), 475–490.
Paraketsov, K.V., Paraketsova, G.I., 1989. Stratigraphy
and fauna of the Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous deposits of Northeast USSR. Nedra,
Moscow (in Russian).
Rogov, M.A., Alifirov, A.S., Igolnikov, A.E., 2015. Revised ammonite succession of the upper Volgianof Nordvik section: Zonal boundaries and uncertainties, in: Baraboshkin, E.Yu., Bykov, D.E.
(Eds.), The International Scientific Conference on
the Jurassic/Cretaceous boundary: Proceedings
volume. Kassandra, Togliatti, pp. 70–76.

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western Pacific
Schnabl, P., Pruner, P., Wimbledon, W.A.P., 2015. A
review of magnetostratigraphic results from theTithonian–Berriasian of Nordvik (Siberia) andpossible biostratigraphic constraints. Geol. Carpathica 66(6), 489–498.
Shurygin, B.N., Dzyuba, O.S., 2015. The Jurassic/Cretaceous boundary in northern Siberia and
Boreal–Tethyan correlation of the boundary
beds. Russ. Geol. Geophys. 56, 652–662.
Urman, O.S., Dzyuba, O.S., Kirillova, G.L., Shurygin,
B.N., 2014. Buchia faunas and biostratigraphy of
the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary deposits in the
Komsomolsk section (Russian Far East). Russ. J.
Pac. Geol. 8(5), 346–359.
Weissert, H., Joachimski, M., Sarnthein, M., 2008.
Chemostratigraphy. Newsl. Stratigr. 42(3), 145–
179.
Wierzbowski, A., Grabowski, J., 2013. The meteorite
Mjølnir crater in the Barents Sea in stratigraphical interpretations. Prz. Geol. 61: 516–522.

Wimbledon, W.A.P., 2016. Resolving the positioningof the Tithonian/Berriasian stage boundary andthe base of the Cretaceous System, in: Michalík,J., Fekete, K. (Eds.), XIIth Jurassica, IGCP 632 andICS Berriasian workshop: Field Trip Guide and
Abstracts Book. ESI SAS, Bratislava, pp. 128–130.
Zakharov, V.A., 2011. The Jurassic–Cretaceous
boundary and Berriasian GSSP: is there light at
the end of the tunnel? (Comments to proposals
on the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary by Berriasian Working Group). News Paleontol. Stratigr.
16–17 (Suppl. Russ. Geol. Geophys. 52), 69–86 (inRussian with English summary).
Zakharov, V.A., Rogov, M.A., Dzyuba, O.S., Žák, K.,
Košt’ák, M., Pruner, P., Skupien, P., Chadima,M., Mazuch, M., Nikitenko, B.L., 2014. Palaeoenvironments and palaeoceanography changes
across the Jurassic/Cretaceous boundary in the
Arctic realm: case study of the Nordvik section(north Siberia, Russia). Polar Res. 33, 19714.

85

The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016

Lower Cretaceous formations and palynology of the Matad area (Tamsag Basin),southeastern Mongolia
Ichinnorov N.1, Ch.–Ch. Hofmann2, H. Hasegawa3 and Uranbileg L.1
1Institute of Paleontology and Geology, Mongolian Academy of Sciences, S. Danzan str. 3/1, Ulaanbaatar 15160, Mongolia;

e-mail: iichka@yahoo.com
2Department of Paleontology, University of Vienna, Austria
3Nagoya University Museum, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan

Introduction
In Mongolia, Upper Jurassic to Cretaceous
non-marine sedimentary rocks are widely distributed. The Lower Cretaceous rocks contain
important mineral resources, such as coal, oil,bituminous shales, gypsum, quart, fluorite, zeolite, rare metals, and gold.
In Eastern Mongolia, the Lower Cretaceous
sedimentary sequence is classified into several
different formations in different basins.
The stratigraphy of Lower Cretaceous strata
in the Tamsag Basin has been studied by Marinov et al. (1973), Khosbayar (1996), Tooruul and
Makhbadar (1990), PAM report (1990), Tomortogoo (1998), Geerdts (2007) assigned these rocks
to the Tsagaantsav and Zuunbayan (also spelled
Dzunbayan and Dzun Bayan) formations (Shuvalov, 1975). The Zuunbayan Formation is the
thickest unit in the Tamsag Basin. It is divided
into the upper and lower formations, based on
depositional environment dominance.
The Lower Zuunbayan Formation is called
Shinekhudag Formation in Southeastern Gobi
(Martinson and Shuvalov, 1973; Shuvalov, 1980,
2003; Jerzykiewicz and Russell, 1991; Badamgarav et al., 1995; Graham et al., 2001;
Ichinnorov and Hofmann, 2012), in Eastern
Mongolia (Bat–Erdene, 1992; Yamamoto et. al.,1993) and consists mainly of deep lacustrine
shale rich in organic matter. The Upper Zuunbayan Formation is called Khukhteeg Formation
in Southeastern Gobi (Martinson and Shuvalov,
1973; Shuvalov, 1980, 2003; Jerzykiewicz andRussell, 1991; Badamgarav et al., 1995; Graham
et al., 2001; Ichinnorov and Hofmann, 2012), andin Eastern Mongolia (Bat–Erdene, 1992; Yamamoto et al., 1993). In this study, we use theShinekhudag and Khukhteeg formations.
The Shinekhudag Formation is composed of
paper shale (well-laminated shale), dolomiticmarls, dolomite, siltstone and sandstone, which86

represent the characteristics of offshore lacustrine facies in large (extensive), perennial lakes.
The formation is about 300 to 700 m thick and is
widely distributed in the Khangai, Mongol Altai, Gobi Altai, Central Gobi, East Gobi, Nyalga,
and Choibalsan basins (Shuvalov, 1975;
Jerzykiewicz and Russell, 1991).
Paleontological age constraints of the
Shinekhudag Formation had been controversial.
Although abundant molluscan and ostracod fossils have been cited as evidence of the Barremianto Hauterivian age (Martinson and Shuvalov,
1975; Khand et al., 2000), the Aptian age of theformation was suggested by floral, concostracans, and palynological evidence (Krassilov,
1982;
Jerzykiewicz
andRussell,
1991;
Ichinnorov, 1998; Graham et al., 2001;
Ichinnorov, 2005; Yuan and Chan, 2005;
Ichinnorov and Hofmann, 2012). Martinson andShuvalov (1975) previously considered the Hauterivian–Barremian age for the formation, basedon the conchostracan assemblage of Bairdestheria
sinensis (Chi), B. mattoxi Kras., Pseudograpta asanoi (Kob. et Kus) from the lower part of the
Zuunbayan Formation of East Gobi. Some of lacustrine shales within the Tsagantsav Formation
may be mistakenly correlated to the
Shinekhudag Formation, as it is also pointed out
by Graham et al. (2001). On the other hand,
Krassilov (1982) defined the age of the
Shinekhudag Formation as Aptian on the basisof two floral assemblage zones of Baierella hastata–Araucaria mongolica, and Limnothetis gobiensis–Limnoniobe insignis, which also occurredin dated strata in eastern Siberia. Based on theconchostracan assemblage in the Shine Khudag
locality, Yuan and Chen (2005) concluded that
the Shinekhudag Formation is correlated to the
Jiufotang Formation of Liaoaning Province dueto the similar faunal occurrence, whose age was
assigned to the Early Aptian (Sha, 2007). In addi-

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western Pacifiction, Ichinnorov (1998, 2005) and Ichinnorov andHofmann (2012) demonstrated pollen and spore
assemblages of the Shinekhudag Formationfrom Bayan Erkhet, Matad, and Shine Khudag
localities, and concluded an Aptian age of theformation.
The Khukhteeg Formation is composed
mainly of dark greyish coaly mudstone, lightgreyish sandstone, and conglomerate. It is widespread in the east and center of Mongolia with acharacteristic feature of abundant coal seams(e.g., Shivee Ovoo, Tevshin Gobi, Bayan Erkhet,
Khuren Dukh, Nalaikh, Baga Nuur localities).
Basic volcanics of different thickness (up to
100 m), as well as oval sandstone concretions,partial tree trunks, and other water-borne organic
materials are intercalated in this formation. The
thickness of the Khukhteeg Formation is about
150–300 m. In the type section of the Khukh Teeg
hill, near the Shine Khudag locality of East Gobi,
there are abundant remains of stromatolites(Sochava, 1977). The Khukhteeg Formation yields
aquatic champsosaurs (Shuvalov, 2000). Angiosperms and some species of ferns occurred in allareas, but ginkgo pollen were less abundant(Ichinnorov, 1998, 2005; Ichinnorov and Hofmann, 2012). The Khukhteeg Formation is dated
as Albian or Aptian–Albian based on the occurrences of turtles and mammals (Dosh Uul, Khar
Khutul, Khukh Teeg; Shuvalov, 1975), molluscs(Khamaryn, Khural), and pollen–spore (Nichols
et al., 2006; Ichinnorov, 1998, 2005; Ichinnorov
and Hofmann, 2012). In the Trans-Altai Gobi, theKhukhteeg deposits ascribed to the Doshuul
Formation contain a horizon of basalts, whose radiometric age is 110–113 Ma (Shuvalov, 2000).
Based on plant megafossils Krassilov (1982) suggested that the deposits are Late Aptian to Albianin age due to the floral similarity with the equivalent strata in the Amur Basin, Japan and northeastern China (Shuvalov, 1975; Martinson, 1982).
The Khukhteeg Formation contains the remainsof elasmobranchs, which also occur in the sediments of Aptian age in Soviet mid-Asia. The
Khukhteeg Formation has yet to yield trionychidturtles, which first appeared in the Late Albian inSoviet mid-Asia, while it is known from the overlying Bayanshiree Formation (Nessov, 1985; Vitek
and Danilov, 2014). This evidence indicates thatthe deposition of the Khukhteeg Formation ended before the Late Albian.

Palynological results
The encountered specimens are characterized by 26–33% spores, 67–74% gymnosperm
pollen. We recovered 46 fossil species of sporesand 31 species of gymnosperm in the Aptian–
Albian sediments of the lower Khukhteeg Formation.
Spores of pteridophytes, most of them probably ferns, are common in the assemblage. A single monolete form is present. It is assigned to thespecies Laevigatosporites ovatus. Among thespores, the species of trilete spores are dominated: Aequitriradites spinulosus, Cooksonites variabilis,
Foraminsporis asymmetricus, Cicatricosisporites hallei, Cicatricosisporites australiensis, Cicatricosisporites
dorogensis, Appendicisporites tricornitatus, Pilosisporites trichopapillosus, Pilosisporites notensis,
Kuylisporites lunarius, Leptolepidites verrucatus, Biretisporites potoniaei, Glecheniidites senonicus,
Sphagnumsporites spilatus, and Osmundacidites
wellmannii. About 15 spores of pteridophytes
were identified to the generic level.
Non-saccate gymnosperm pollen are represented by Araucaricidites, Inaperturapollenites,
Ephedripites, Ginkgocycadophytus, Monosulcites,
and Cycadopites.
In our assemblage, the specimens of bisaccate coniferous pollen are mostly assigned to thegenera Piceapollenites, Pinuspollenites, Cedripidites
and Podocarpidites. The following taxa are common: Alisporites sp., Keteleriapollenites sp., Pinuspollenites divulgatus, Pinuspollenites minimus,
Pinuspollenites cf. concessus, Pinuspollenites sp. 1,
Pinuspollenites sp. 2, Piceapollenites exiloides, Piceapollenites mesophyticus, Protopiceapollenites exiloides, Piceapollenites sp., Podocarpidites multiformis, Podocarpidites dettmannii, Podocarpidites
decorus, Podocarpidites sp., Cedripites libaniformis,
Cedripites cretaceous, and Cedripites sp.
Discussion
This palynological assemblage is completely
different from palynological assemblages discovered from (Ichinnorov, 2005) and (PAM,
1997), concluded that the age of these sediments
is Hauterivian–Barremian. Our palynological assemblage includes many different species ofpteridophyte spores. Aequitriradites spinulosus,
Appendicisporites tricornitatus, Cicatricosisporites
hallei, Cicatricosisporites australiensis, Cicatricosisporites dorogensis, Pilosisporites trichopapillo87

The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016

sus, Pilosisporites notensis, Leptolepidites verrucatus, Biretisporites potoniaei, and Glecheniidites
senonicus are the typical Neocomian species, but
most of them were found in the Aptian–Albian
Khukhteeg Formation of Mongolia (Bratseva
and Novodvorskaya, 1975; Ichinnorov, 2003,
2005; PAM, 1997). Foraminsporis asymmetricus,
Cooksonites variabilis, Laevigatosporites ovatus havebeen found in the Aptian–Albian of Mongolia(Ichinnorov, 2003, 2005), Russia (Kotova, 1970),
and western Canada (Pocock, 1962; Singh, 1964),
in the Albian–Cenomanian of Central Alberta(Norris, 1967). Appendicisporites tricornitatus is atypical Lower Cretaceous species ranging from88

the top of the Berriasian to the Albian. It has
been recorded from the Aptian–Albian of England (Kemp, 1970) and Mongolia (PAM, 1997),
and from the Maastrichtian of Wyoming (Michael et al., 1986).
According to the occurrences of spores andpollen listed above and absence of angiosperms,
the palynological assemblage is dated as Aptian–Albian (the lowest Khukhteeg Formation),and it is well correlated with the Aptian–Albian
assemblage of the locality Shivee–Ovoo(Ichinnorov, 2003, 2005). The palynological evidence is consistent with a humid and warm
paleoclimate.

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western Pacific

Ryazanian (Boreal Berriasian) ammonite succession of the Nordvik section(Russian Arctic): Revision and new data
A.E. Igolnikov1,2, M.A. Rogov3 and A.S. Alifirov1,2
1Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics, Siberian Branch of RAS, Acad. Koptyug av. 3, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
2Novosibirsk State University, Pirogova str. 2, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia

e-mail: igolnikovae@ipgg.sbras.ru
3Geological Institute of the RAS, Pyzhevskii per. 7, Moscow 119017, Russia

The section on the Nordvik Peninsula (theLaptev Sea coast, Anabar Bay) is studied since
the 50th of last century that provides a lot of material. Nevertheless, it requires new revision.
This investigation is based on some samples
collected by V.A. Zakharov, Yu.I. Bogomolov,
V.A. Marinov, but major part of the material
was collected by the authors during 2003, 2009,2011, and 2014 field seasons. The published data
were analyzed (Basov et al., 1970; Zakharov etal., 1983; Bogomolov, 1989), and the N.I. Shulgina’s collection located in the CSRGS museum(Saint Petersburg) was investigated.
The entire Ryazanian stage is here exposedcomprising five ammonite zones. The base of thefirst Chetaites sibiricus Zone (about 3.5 m thick) is
commonly defined in the Nordvik section at thebase of thin bed 18 (3–5 cm) of phosphatic chalk(Fig. 1) according to the first occurrence of Praetollia. It should be noted that there are somequestions on Chetaites occurrences from C. sibiricus Zone in the Nordvik section. The specimensof C. cf. sibiricus previously represented by
N.I. Shulgina (Zakharov et al., 1983) cannot be
attributed to this genus, because they are characterized by Craspeditidae-like suture pattern anda moderately tight umbilicus that allows the reliable identification of these forms as Praetollia.
C. cf. sibiricus shown by Zakharov and Rogov(2008; Table II, Fig. 8) is hardly belongs to thisgenus; C. aff. sibiricus mentioned in the same
publication (Ibid, Table II, Fig. 9) is characterized by a Craspeditidae-like suture pattern. This
form is close to Craspedites (Taimyroceras), butdiffers in its large size in comparison to other
Craspedites (Taimyroceras). In the collection of theauthors, there is an exclusive specimen withwide umbilicus, which is important diagnostic
feature of the genus Chetaites. However, thisspecimen was found in the next higher ammonite zone, i.e. Hectoroceras kochi Zone.

The assemblage of the Chetaites sibiricus
Zone generally consists of various Praetollia as
well as rare Craspedites (Taimyroceras), Boreophylloceras, and Borealites (?). New data showthat previous occurrences of Borealites at such
low stratigraphic level (Igolnikov, 2010) cannot
be considered as definitive, because some large
shells of Praetollia can have rather clear rib differentiations, typical for Borealites.
The base of second Ryazanian zone, Hectoroceras kochi (about 8.9 m thick), is defined byfirst appearance of index species and confined tothe base of massive concretion horizon in thebed 23 (Fig. 1). It confirms the initial point ofview on the location of zone base (Basov et al.,1970) that is supported by new occurrences of
H. kochi at this level. In the lower third of thezone, various Praetollia continue to prevail
among ammonites, several specimens of Borealites (Borealites) and single Chetaites, Bochianites,
and Biasaloceras are found. Well preserved ammonites are rare in the middle part of the sectioncommonly containing rare concretions, but there
are some imprints defined as Borealites (?) sp.
ind. There are plenty of ammonites in the upper
part of the zone: Borealites (Borealites) and Borealites (Pseudocraspedites) are the most abundant,
and Boreophylloceras and Anabaroceras are rare
here. As the last one concerned, we should notethat these are not the first findings outside thetype locality (Anabar River lower reaches), butthey are most ancient (type collection contains
Valanginian specimens) (Repin, 2012).
New data on the succession of Surites fromthe analogus group fully comply with previous
results (Basov et al., 1970; Zakharov et al., 1983),
and the base of the Surites analogus Zone (4.3 m)
is defined at the base of the bed 31 (Fig. 1).
Along with Surites, the assemblage also comprises Borealites (Pseudocraspedites) and Borealites(Ronkinites), but they are less frequent.
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The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016

Fig. 1. Distribution of all known Ryazanian ammonite records in the Nordvik section (1967–2014). 1 – stage/substage,
2 – ammonite zones (Boreal standard), 3 – Borealites beds (A.E. Igolnikov), 4 – paleomagnetic zones; 5–8 – lithology:
5 – silty clays to claystones, 6 – phosphatic chalk, 7 – carbonate concretions, 8 – massive concretion horizon; 9–11 – localities: 9 – Outcrop 32, 10 – Outcrop 33, 11 – Outcrop 31; 12 – approximate position or loose occurrences from bed.
Numbers of beds are after Zakharov et al. (1983) for the outcrops 32 and 33, and after A.E. Igolnikov (field data 2014)
for the Outcrop 31. Thickness scale 1 m.
90

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western Pacific

The Bojarkia mesezhnikowi and Tollia tollizones, the uppermost two Ryazanian zones in
the Nordvik section, are defined according toYu.I. Bogomolov (1989). There are no fundamentally new data on these intervals, but the occurrence of Boreophylloceras sp. in the rock debris of
B. mesezhnikowi Zone should be noted.
The continuous Ryazanian from theNordvik outcrops with abundant ammonites
and distinct zone boundaries can be regarded asa reference section for the north of Siberia. For
instance, Praetollia confined only to the bottomof the Chetaites sibiricus Zone in the Kheta River
section (Alekseev, 1984) remained unexplainable
for a long time. Praetollia and Hectoroceras werepreviously reported from the Nordvik Peninsula
and Greenland (Basov et al., 1970; Zakharov etal., 1983; Surlyk, 1973), and they are recently
found in the Hectoroceras kochi Zone in the Lena
River (Rogov et al., 2011) and in the North Sea
regions (Abbink et al., 2001). Thus, the part of
the Kheta River section previously assigned to
the C. sibiricus Zone (Saks, 1972; Alekseev, 1984)
can be now considered as the H. kochi Zone due
to co-occurrence of Chetaites sp. and Hectoroceras
sp. in the base of the section (Saks, 1972; Zakharov, 1990). The base of the H. kochi Zone must be
identified by the first appearance of Hectoroceras(Casey et al., 1988). Nevertheless, Hectoroceras
specimens from the Kheta River have neverbeen described in the publications and they areabsent in the collection (excluding the specimen
from the rock debris apparently of the higher
stratigraphic levels), so it is impossible to checkthe accuracy of their definitions. According to
the field data of M.A. Rogov (2015 season), Outcrop 21 in the Kheta River completely consists of
Quaternary rock debris, and the Lower Creta-

ceous with very rare ammonites can be only
found in the pits. All specimens of C. sibiricus
were found in the large bun-shaped concretionsof calcareous siltstones from the rock debris oflower stratigraphic level that is evidenced byrock structure, as opposed to the visible section
basement in the publications of predecessors(Saks, 1972; Alekseev, 1984; Zakharov, 1990). In
this case, it is important either to select the neostratotype for the C. sibiricus Zone or use Praetollia maynci as index species for the lowermost
zone of the Ryazanian stage in Siberia.
Chetaites and Borealites successions in the
Nordvik section show that S.N. Alekseev’s(1984) tripartite division of the Hectoroceras kochi
Zone can be extended. Approximately 5 m of thesection between the layers containing Hectoroceras and the last Chetaites, which can becompared with the H. kochi Subzone, and thelevel marked by the first appearance of Borealites(Borealites) constans do not contain any ammonites (Fig. 1). This lacuna corresponds to the layers with B. (B.) antiquus.
Using the data on ammonite succession in
the Nordvik section, the boundaries of the Hectoroceras kochi Zone can be more accurately defined in the absence index species. The section in
the Lena River lower reaches can be used as an
example (Rogov et al., 2011). Here, there is the
Chetaites sibiricus Zone with Chetaites, Praetollia,
and Borealites in the bottom of the Ryazanianpart of the section. This assemblage is typical forthe lower third of the H. kochi Zone, so the C.
sibiricus Zone may be absent in the region.
This work is supported by the Geological Institute of RAS (project 0135-2014-0064), and is a contribution to the IGCP608 and programs 30, 32 and 43 of
the Presidium of the RAS.

References
Abbink, O.A., Callomon, J.H., Riding, J.B., Williams,
P.D.B., Wolfard, A., 2001. Biostratigraphy of Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary strata in the Terschelling Basin, the Netherlands. Proc. Yorkshire
Geol. Soc. 53, 275–302.
Alekseev, S.N., 1984. New data on a zonal subdivisionof the Berriasian in the north of Siberia, in: Menner, V.V. (Ed.), The Jurassic and Cretaceous
boundary stages. Nauka, Moscow, pp. 81–106 (inRussian).

Basov, V.A., Zakharov, V.A., Ivanova, E.P. et al., 1970.
Zonal classification of the Upper Jurassic andLower Cretaceous deposits on Urdyuk–Khaya
Cape (Pakhsa Peninsula, Anabar Bay), in: Gerke,
A.A. (Ed.), Science memoirs NIIGA. Palaeontology and biostratigraphy. NIIGA, Leningrad, pp.
14–31 (in Russian).
Bogomolov, Yu.I., 1989. Polyptychites (Ammonoids)
and biostratigraphy of the Boreal Valanginian.
Nauka, Novosibirsk (in Russian).
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The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016
Casey, R., Mesezhnikow, M.S., Shulgina, N.I., 1988.
Ammonite zones in Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary sediments of the Boreal realm. News AS
USSR. Geol. Ser. 10, 71–84 (in Russian).
Igolnikov, A.E., 2010. New ammonite’s finds from
Berriasian of the Nordvik Peninsula, in: Proc. 5th
All-Russia meeting “Cretaceous system of Russia
and near Overseas: problems of stratigraphy andpaleogeography”. UlGU, Ulyanovsk, pp. 163–165(in Russian).
Repin, Yu.S., 2012. The endemic branch of the Phylloceratida (Ammonoidea) of Arctic Mesozoic, in:Proc. conf. “Contributions to current cephalopod
research: Morphology, systematics, evolution,
ecology and biostratigraphy”. PIN, Moscow, pp.
73–76 (in Russian).
Rogov, M.A., Zakharov, V.A., Ershova, V.B., 2011. Detailed stratigraphy of the Jurassic–Cretaceous
boundary beds of the Lena River lower reachedbased on ammonites and Buchiids. Stratigr. Geol.
Correl. 19, 641–662.

92

Saks, V.N. (Ed.), 1972. Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary
and Berriasian stage in Boreal realm. Nauka,
Novosibirsk (in Russian).
Surlyk, F., 1973. The Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary inJameson Land, East Greenland. Geol. J., Spec. Iss.
5, 81–100.
Zakharov, V.A., 1990. Definition of Jurassic–
Cretaceous boundary on buchias, in: A boundaryof Jurassic–Cretaceous system. Nauka, Moscow,
pp. 115–128 (in Russian).
Zakharov, V.A., Rogov, M.A., 2008. The Upper Volgian substage in northeast Siberia (Nordvik Peninsula) and its Panboreal correlation based onammonites. Stratigr. Geol. Correl. 16, 423–436.
Zakharov, V.A., Nalnyaeva, T.I., Shulgina, N.I., 1983.
New data on the biostratigraphy of the Upper
Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous deposits on Paksa
Peninsula, Anabar Embayment (north of the
Middle Siberia), in: Jurassic and Cretaceous
paleobiogeography and biostratigraphy of Siberia. Nauka, Moscow, pp. 56–99 (in Russian).

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western Pacific

The closing age of Himalayan Tethys: New evidence from planktic foraminifera
G.B. Li
China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China; e-mail: liguobiao@cugb.edu.cn

The Yadong area was located at the residual
basin of the Neotethys during the Paleogene,which develops a set of youngest marine deposition of the Tethyan Himalayas, and therefore thebiostratigraphic data from the Tingri-GambaYadong area are essential to constrain the age of
the India–Asia collision.
Planktic foraminifera study is usually considered to be one of the most important methods
to determine the age of Meso-Cenozoic marine
sediments and thus can be used to define theage of latest sediments in Tethyan Himalayas,
which can provide well-constrained age of the
India–Asia collision (Wan, 1990; Willems et al.,
1996; Rowley, 1998; Wang et al., 2002; Li andWan, 2003; Li et al., 2004, 2005, 2006; Najman etal., 2010).
A detailed investigation of planktic
foraminfers was firstly provided for the newly
discovered marine horizon (Zhepure Formationof Paleogene age) in the Gulupu section, Duina,
Yadong, southern Tibet (Fig. 1). The Zhepure
Formation was further divided into underlying
Limestone Member and overlying Shale Member,which conformably contact each other. Abundant
benthic and planktic foraminifera are respectively
revealed in the Limestone and Shale members(Fig. 2). This paper focuses on the planktic foraminiferal biostratigraphy of the Shale Member.
Examination of foraminiferal tests and thinsection fossils of the Shale Member has yielded
135 species of 28 planktic foraminiferal genera,
and ten planktic foraminiferal biozones wererecognized, in ascending order: M. formosa formosa, M. aragonensis, A. pentacamerata, H. nuttalli, G. subconglobata subconglobata, M. lehneri,
O. beckmanni, T. rohri, G. semiinvoluta, andT. cerroazulensis s.l. zones. The planktic foraminifera retrieved from the Shale Member give an
Eocene age, spanning the interval from the middle Ypresian to the latest Priabonian (P7–P17,
deposited ~52–34 Ma) and indicating that the final closure of the Tethys seaway in this region
should occur later than ~34 Ma.
Keywords
Planktic foraminifera, Zhepure Formation,
Tethyan Himalaya, Gulupu, Yadong, Priabonian, Eocene.

Fig. 1. Geological setting and locality of the studied section.
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Fig. 2. The representative species of planktic foraminiferal assemblages from the Gulupu section. 1–5 – Globigerinalozanol Colom; 4–6 – Morozovella spinulosa (Cushman); 7–9, 13–15 – Morozovella aequa (Cushman et Renz); 10–12 – Morozovella aragonensis (Nuttall); 16–21 – Turborotalia boweri (Bolli); 22–24 – Turborotalia cerroazulensis possagnoensis(Toumarkine et Bolli); 25–30 – Turborotalia cerroazulensis pomeroli (Toumarkine et Bolli); 31–33 – Globorotaloides
eovariabilis Huber et Pearson; 34–36 – Globigerina senni (Beckmann); 37–39 – Morozovella conicotruncata (Subbotina);
40–42 – Acarinina primitiva (Finlay). Scale bar equals 100 µm.

References
Li, G.B., Wan, X.Q., 2003. Eocence microfossils insouthern Tibet and the final closing of the Tibet–
Tethys. J. Stratigr. 27, 99–108.
Li, G.B., Wan, X.Q., Ding, L., Liu, W.C., Gao, L.F.,
2004. The Paleogene foreland basin and sedimentary responses in the southern Tibet: Analysis onsequence stratigraphy. Acta Sedimentol. Sinica
22, 455–464.
94

Li, G.B., Wan, X.Q., Liu, W.C., 2005. Paleogene micropaleontology and basin evolution of southern
Tibet. Geological Publishing House, Beijing.
Li, X.H., Wang, C.S., Luba, J., Hu, X.M., 2006. Age ofinitiation of the India–Asia collision in the eastcentral Himalaya: A discussion. J. Geol. 114, 637–
640.

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western PacificNajman, Y., Appel, E., Boudaghe-Fade, M.B., Bown,
P., Carter, A., Garzanti, E., Godin, L., Han, J.T.,
Liebke, U. Oliver, G., Parrish, R., Vezzoli, G.,2010. The timing of India–Asia collision: Geological, biostratigraphic and palaeomagnetic constraints. J. Geophys. Res. 115, B12416.
Rowley, D.B., 1998. Minimum age of initiation of collision between India and Asia north of Everest
based on the subsidence history of the Zhepure
Mountain section. J. Geol. 106, 229–235.
Wan, X.Q., 1990. Cretaceous–Early Tertiary foraminifera of Xizang (Tibet) and evolution of the Te-

thys–Himalayan sea. Acta Micropalaeontol. Sinica 7, 169–186.
Wang, C.S., Li, X.H., Hu, X.M., Jansa, L., 2002. Latest
marine horizon north of Qomolangma (Mt. Everest): Implications for closure of Tethys seaway
and collision tectonics. Terra Nova 14, 114–120.
Willems, H., Zhou, Z.Y., Zhang, B.G., Gräfe, K.-U.,
1996. Stratigraphy of the Upper Cretaceous andLower Tertiary strata in the Tethyan Himalayasof Tibet (Tingri area, China). Geol. Rundschau
85, 723–754.

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Revised stratigraphy of Indus Basin (Pakistan): Sea level changes
M.S. Malkani
Geological Survey of Pakistan, Upper Chattar 130 D, str. 16, Muzaffarabad, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan; e-mail: malkanims@yahoo.com

The Indus Basin is located in the central andeastern part of Pakistan and further subdivided
into the uppermost (Khyber–Hazara–Kashmir),upper (Kohat–Potwar), middle (Sulaiman) andlower (Kirthar) basins. The Indus Basin is situated in the west and north of Indo-Pak subcontinent, which belongs to Gondwana lands (southern earth). The sediments of Pakistan underwent
significant tectonic deformation during the collision of Asian and Indo-Pak continental plates
that started in the latest Cretaceous. As a result,strata were folded, faulted and elevated alongwith many variations of sea level (Fig. 1).
Revised stratigraphy of the Khyber-HazaraKashmir (uppermost Indus) Basin
The uppermost Indus Basin is the lateral extension of the upper Indus Basin in the downward slopes. In the upper Indus Basin, the alternating terrestrial and marine conditions were
dominant, while the marine conditions werecommon in the uppermost Indus Basin. The example is the Datta Formation, which was deposited in terrestrial environments in the upper Indus Basin and marine environments in theuppermost Indus Basin.
The comprehensive and revised stratigraphic succession in the southern part of the KhyberHazara-Kashmir (uppermost Indus) Basin comprises the Hazara and Tanawal Quartzite formations (Precambrian), the Abbottabad andHazira formations (Cambrian), the Chalk Jabbi
Formation (Triassic), the Datta and Samanasuk
formations (Jurassic), and the Chichali and Kawagarh formations (Cretaceous).
In the northern part, the succeccion includes
the Panjal Formation with volcanic rocks, theIndus Formation with bauxite, chamosite andlaterite of latest Cretaceous age, and the latest
Cretaceous to Late Paleocene Hangu Formation.
The Patala Formation is a lateral facies substitution of the Hangu Formation; its age is latest
Cretaceous to Early Paleocene, because it is wellcorrelated with the Vitakri coal of Kingri area in
the Sulaiman Basin. The Hangu Formation is96

overlain by the Sakesar Formation (its lateral facies substitution is the Lockhart Formation). The
Eocene Kuldana Group represents fine clastic
Chorgali Formation and Kuldana Formation
comprising red and varicoloured mudstone,sandstone, and dolomitic limestone. In this basin, first clastic material derived from the northshowing first and feeble collision of Indo-Pak
plate with Asia. The lower part of the Kuldana
Formation is mostly continental; it is correlatedwith the Toi and Kingri formations of the middle Indus Basin. The upper part of the Kuldana
Formation shows the transgression of the sea. It
is correlated with the Habib Rahi, Domanda,
Pirkoh and Drazinda formations of the Kahan
Group of the middle Indus Basin. The next
member of northern stratigraphic succeccion is
the Miocene–Pliocene Murree Formation composed of fine to coarse clastic rocks, showing
hard collision of Indo-Pak with Asia. The Soan
Group is represented by the Pleistocene Lei
Formation with mainly conglomerate and coarse
clastic facies, and the Holocene Soan Formation
comprising clay, sandstone and subordinate
conglomerate and relatively fine clastic facies.
There are some problems in correlation of
the Murree, Kamlial, Chinji, Nagri and Dhok Pathan formations, especially in Azad Kashmirand northern Potwar. So, the Murree Formationis the senior synonym of the Kamlial Formation.
Thus, the revised succession in the KhyberHazara-Kashmir areas are the Murree and Soan
formations, and in the Potwar area – the Murree,
Chinji, Nagri and Dhok Pathan formations of the
Potwar Group. In the Khyber area, the formation names are based on local names; it needs
the revision and correlation to the HazaraKashmir area of the uppermost Indus Basin.
Revised stratigraphy of the Kohat-Potwar(upper Indus) Basin
Indo-Pakistan shield is represented by the
Precambrian Nagar Parker granite in southern/lower Indus Basin and the Kirana Group
composed of slate, quartzite and igneous rocks

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western PacificFig. 1. Mesozoic and Cenozoic sea level curves for Sulaiman (middle Indus) and Kohat-Potwar (upper Indus) basinsof Pakistan.

in the northern/upper Indus Basin. Stratigraphic
succession in central and western Kohat subbasin of the Kohat-Potwar Basin is following: thePrecambrian Salt Range Formation composed ofmarl, gypsum, salt, and shale; the Cambrian
Khewra (purple to brown sandstone), Kussak(greenish grey and glauconitic sandstone), Juta-na (light green dolomite and shale), Baghanwala(red shale alternated with flaggy sandstone),and Khisor (gypsum with shale and dolomite)formations; the Permian Tobra (tillite conglomerate and sandstone), Dandot (sandstone andshale), Warcha (sandstone with some shale),
Sardhi (shale with minor sandstone and silt97

The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016

stone), Amb (sandstone, limestone, and shale),Wargal (limestone and dolomite), and Chidru(shale and sandstone) formations; the Triassic
Mianwali (shale, limestone, and sandstone),
Tredian (sandstone), and Kingriali (dolomite
and limestone with minor shale) formations; theJurassic Datta (fluvial sandstone with minor
shale), Shinawari (shale, limestone, and sandstone), and Samana Suk (limestone with subordinate shale) formations; the Cretaceous Chichali (glauconitic sandstone and shale), Lumshiwal(white sandstone and shale), and Kawagarh(limestone, marl, and shale) formations; the preTertiary Indus Formation composed of bauxite,
laterite, chamositic and glauconitic iron; the latest Cretaceous–Paleocene Hangu Formation
with sandstone, shale, and coal (the synonym is
the Patala Formation), the Sakesar Formation
composed of nodular limestone with minor
shale (synonyms are the Lockhart and Margala
hill limestone), the Panoba Formation withshale, the Gurguri Formation (synonym is the
Chashmai Formation, which is coeval with theToi Formation of Sulaiman), the Shekhan Formation with limestone and shale, the Bahadurkhel Formation with halite salt, the Jatta Formation composed of gypsum with minor clay,
the Habib Rahi Formation composed of limestone with marl and shale (coeval with the Kohat Formation), and the Domanda Formation(synonym is the Sirki Formation).
In Potwar, Hazara, Kashmir and eastern
Kohat, the Kuldana Group includes the Chorgali
Formation with shale and dolomitic limestone
and Kuldana Formation composed of red andvaricoloured shale, sandstone, and dolomitic
limestone. The Miocene–Pliocene Murree Formation comprises sandstone, conglomerate, andshale (synonym is the Kamlial Formation), theChinji Formation consists of red clays, sandstone
and conglomerate, and the Nagri Formation iscomposed of sandstone with minor shale andconglomerate. The Pliocene Dhok Pathan Formation comprises clays with subordinate sandstone and conglomerate. The Pleistocene Lei
Formation contains conglomerate. The Holocene
Soan Formation is composed of clay, conglomerate, and sandstone; the subrecent and recent
surface rocks are represented by alluvium, colluvium and eolian deposits (Fig. 1). The Waziristan–Kurram areas show the extension of98

Sulaiman Basin stratigraphy. The sedimentary
section in Pezu to Parachinar area (Kurram
Agency) is composed of interfingering strata ofthe middle and upper Indus basins.
Revised stratigraphy of the Sulaiman (middle
Indus) and Kirthar (lower Indus) basins
The Sulaiman Basin shows the different updated succession of lithological units (Malkani
2010, 2012; Fig. 1). The Triassic Khanozai Groupis represented by the Gwal Formation with shale
and thin bedded limestone and the Wulgai Formation composed of shale with medium bedded
limestone. The Jurassic Sulaiman Group is represented by the Spingwar Formation consistedof shale, marl and limestone with some igneous
sills/dykes found close to the western Indus Suture, the Loralai Formation composed of limestone with minor shale, and the Chiltan Formation with limestone. The Cretaceous ParhGroup is represented by the Sembar Formation
with shale, the Goru Formation with shale andmarl, and the Parh Formation composed oflimestone with some volcanic sills/dykes foundclose to the western Indus Suture); the Fort
Munro Group is represented by the Mughal Kot
Formation consisted of shale/mudstone, sandstone, marl and limestone with some volcanics
found close to western Indus Suture, the Fort
Munro Formation with limestone, the Pab Formation composed of sandstone with subordinate
shale with some evidences of Deccan volcanism,and the Vitakri Formation consisded of red
muds which is the host of dinosaurs and grey towhite sandstone. The Paleocene Sangiali Groupis represented by the Sangiali Formation composed of limestone, glauconitic sandstone andshale, the Rakhi Gaj Formation with the Girdu
Member composed of glauconitic and hematitic
sandstone and the Bawata Member composed ofalternation of shale and sandstone, and by the
Dungan Formation with limestone and shale.
The Eocene Chamalang (Ghazij) Group is represented by the Shaheed Ghat Formation withshale, the Toi Formation composed of sandstone, shale, rubbly limestone and coal, theKingri Formation composed ofred shale/mud,grey and white sandstone, the Drug Formation
composed of rubbly limestone, marl, and shale,
and the Baska Formation with gypsum beds andshale; the Kahan Group is represented by theCretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western Pacific

Habib Rahi Formation with limestone, marl, andshale, the Domanda Formation composed ofshale with one bed of gypsum, the Pir Koh Formation with limestone, marl, and shale, and theDrazinda Formation composed of shale withsubordinate marl and Sulaimanitherium dhanotri(Basilosauridae) – the king of basal whale. The
Oligocene–Pliocene Vihowa Group is represented by the Chitarwata Formation composed ofgrey ferruginous sandstone, conglomerate andmud with Baluchitherium osborni, the largest landmammal Buzdartherium gulkirao, and fresh water
crocodile Asifcroco retrai, the Vihowa Formation
composed of red ferruginous shale/mud, sandstone and conglomerate, the Litra Formation
comprised of greenish grey sandstone with subordinate conglomerate and mud with host oflarge proboscidean Gomphotherium buzdari, andthe Chaudhwan Formation composed of mud,conglomerate and sandstone. The Pleistocene
Dada Formation is composed of conglomeratewith subordinate mud and sandstone, subrecent
and recent fluvial, eolian and colluvial deposits.
In general, the Kirthar Basin shows thesame succession of lithological units like in theSulaiman basin during the Mesozoic and Qua-

ternary, but it varies in the Tertiary. The Paleocene Ranikot Group is represented by the
Khadro Formation composed of sandstone,
shale, limestone, and volcanics derived from
Deccan volcanism, the Bara Formation composed of sandstone with minor limestone, coaland volcanics, and the Lakhra Formation withlimestone and shale. The Early Eocene Chamalang/Ghazij Group (north source) has beenrecognized in northern Kirthar. In southern
Kirthar, the Laki Group is represented by lateritic clay, ochre, coal and limestone of the Sohnari
Formation and shale and limestone of the Laki
Formation. The Kirthar Group is represented by
the Kirthar Formation composed of shale andlimestone, and the Gorag Formation mainlycomprised resistant limestone. The Oligocene
Gaj Group is represented by the Nari Formation
composed of ferruginous sandstone, shale, limestone, and the Gaj Formation composed of shalewith subordinate sandstone and limestone. The
Miocene–Pliocene Manchar Group is represented by sandstone, conglomerate, and mud. Subrecent and recent surface sediments are represented by alluvium, colluvium, eolian,lacustrine, and evaporite deposits.

References
Malkani, M.S., 2010. Updated stratigraphy and mineral potential of Sulaiman (middle Indus) basin,
Pakistan. Sindh Univ. Res. J., Sci. Ser. 42(2), 39–
66.

Malkani, M.S., 2012. Revised lithostratigraphy of
Sulaiman and Kirthar basins, Pakistan, in: Earth
Sciences Pakistan 2012, Baragali Summer Campus, University of Peshawar, June 23–24, 2012,
Pakistan: Abstract Volume and Program. J. Himalayan Earth Sci. 45(2), 72.

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The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016

Stratigraphy of Jurassic–Cretaceous rocks of Thung Yai–Khlong Thom area,
peninsular Thailand
N. Teerarungsigul
Department of Mineral Resources, Rama 6, Ratchatawi, Bangkok 10400, Thailand; e-mail: naramase@hotmail.com

The Thung Yai–Khlong Thom area is located in the peninsular Thailand covering approximately 1.160 sq. km. The topography of the area
is generally high mountainous and undulating
landforms. The present investigation embraces
defining the lithostratigraphy of non-marine
Mesozoic rocks distributed in the Thung Yai–
Khlong Thom area, southern Thailand. Additional attempt has been made to analyze the sedimentary sequences in terms of sedimentary facies and to reconstruct the depositional
environment in the area. The oldest rocks ofThung Yai–Khlong Thom area is believed to be
the Permian limestone and marine Triassic
rocks. These rocks unconformably underlie thesedimentary sequences of non-marine Mesozoic
rocks of the Trang Group.
The Jurassic–Cretaceous rocks (Trang
Group) unconformably overlie the Permian to
Triassic basement rocks. This group consists offour formations: the Khlong Min Formation, theLam Thap Formation, the Sam Chom Formation,and the Phun Phin Formation (in ascending order). The total thickness varies from 65 to
1.145 m.
The Khlong Min Formation is represented
by mudstone intercalated with fossiliferous
limestone with abundant vertebrate and invertebrate fossils, and primary structures, i.e.,

100

hummocky and flaser bedding. The fossils assemblages in the lower part reflect lagoonal environment gradually changing over to lacustrine
to the fluvial environment. The rocks of the Lam
Thap Formation were believed to be depositedin meandering stream, floodplain, and alluvial
fan environments. The paleo-currents are mainly
characterized by east to west directions (285 directions). The conglomerate and conglomeratic
sandstone of the Sam Chom Formation commonly exhibit sharp contacts, graded bedding,and finning upward the sequence in some areas,
reflecting the braided stream and alluvial fan origins. The fine-grained sandstone is characterized by red to reddish brown color with commonly trough and planar cross-bedding of the
Phun Phin Formation indicating braided stream
with east direction of the paleocurrent in thelower part, and northeast direction in the upper
part. The sharp contact, matrix-supported, andvariety of clasts in the fanglomerate of the upper
part of the Phun Phin Formation indicate debris
flow origin. From stratigraphic and paleontological evidences, the age of the Trang Groupshould be determined as early Middle Jurassic–
Late Cretaceous.
Keywords
Jurassic–Cretaceous rocks, Thung Yai–Khlong
Thom, peninsular Thailand.

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western Pacific

Palynology and magnetostratigraphy of Deccan volcanic associated sedimentary
sequence of Amarkantak Group in Central India: Age and paleoenvironment
D. Thakre, B. Samant and D.M. Mohabey
PG Department of Geology, RTM Nagpur University, Law College Square, Amravati Road, Nagpur 440001, India;
e-mail: thakredeepali1@gmail.com

The Deccan Continental Flood Basalt(DCFB) province covers an area of about 500.000
km2 in central and western India. The study area
falls in Chhindwara–Jabalpur–Seoni–Mandla(CJSM) sector of the eastern part of the Deccan
Volcanic Province (EDVP) (Yedekar et al., 1996),
which has ~431 m thick lava pile comprising of
34 flows and eight formations, namely the
Mandla, Dhuma, Piperdehi, Linga, Multai, Amarwara, Khampa, and Kuleru formations (ascending stratigraphic order) (Geological Surveyof India, 2000). Detailed palynological study of
23 intertrappean sections at nine stratigraphic
levels was carried out to understand the flora,
age and depositional environmental of the sediments. For better age constraint, paleomagnetic
study of associated volcanic flows was also carried out.
The lowermost intertrappean, i.e. Mohgaon
Kalan Well Section (MKWS), is mainly encountered in the dug wells, and the upper intertrappean, i.e. Mohgaon Kalan Fossil Forest (MKFF)
rich in megaflora, is exposed in an area of about
100 km2. Both these intertrappeans occur in between the Mandla and Dhuma formations.
Palynology
For palynological investigations, nine new
dug well sections, namely the Government Well,
Srivastava Well, Shriwas Well, Lodhi Well, Hakim-1 Well, Jamil Well, Idbi bano Well, Hakim
Well, and Vishwakarma Well represented byvarious lithofacies (green shales, highly fossiliferous black lignitic shales, and carbonaceousclay), were studied. The samples from six dug
wells (Government Well, Srivastava Well,
Shriwas Well, Lodhi Well, Hakim Well, and
Vishwakarma Well) yielded very good concentration of palynomorphs. The palynoflora is represented by pteridophytes, gymnosperms, angiosperms, fungal spores, fungal fruit bodies, andalgal remains. The recovered palynomorphs are
assigned to 35 genera and 63 species. Some of

the important and newly recorded palynomorphs are Ephedripites spp., Crenwellia sp. A,
Dipterocarpuspollenites retipilatus, Farabeipollis
minutes, Intratricolpites brevis, Incrotonipollis neyvelli, Jingsupollis spp., Paleosantalaceaepites miocenicus, Proteacidites spp., Psilodiporites erdtmanii,
Racemonocolpites maximus, Retibrevitricolporites
spp., Retidiporites megadalensis, Scollardia conferta,
Sparaganiaceaepollenites spp., Spinizonocolpites
spp., Tribrevicolporites sp., and Tricolpites spp.
Overall, palynological assemblage of MKWS isdominated by Ephedripites, Proxaperties andSpinizonocolpites.
The overlying MKFF intertrappean dominated by chert yielded palynomorphs mainly
from two sections, namely the Nala section andthe section near Keriya village. The palynological taxa in MKFF are represented by 11 generaand 32 species. Some of the important taxa recorded from MKFF are Aquilapollenites bengalensis, Azolla cretacea, Gabonisporis vigourouxii,
Proxapertites operculatus, Spinizonocolpites echinatus, Jiagsupollis spp., and the pollen of Normapolles group. Dominating forms are Aquilapollenites bengalensis, Azolla cretacea and
Gabonisporis vigourouxii.
Overall, palynological assemblage fromboth intertrappean deposits shows close similarity, but palynoflora of MKWS is more diverse.
The presence of Aquilapollenites bengalensis, Azolla cretacea, Gabonisporis vigourouxii, Crenwellia
sp. A, Scollardia conferta, Farabeipollis minutes andJiagsupollis spp. indicate Maastrichtian age forboth intertrappean deposits. The presence ofdominating
Spinizonocolpites(Nypa)
andProxapertites (Arecaceae) suggests estuarine conditions at the time of deposition. High concentration of fungal remains and epiphyllous fungi(Microthyriaceae (Phragmothyrites), Dicellaesporites fusiformis, and Frasnacritetrus indicus) indicates the prevalence of humid conditions (Cookson, 1947; Dilcher, 1965; Selkirk, 1975; Samantand Mohabey, 2009).
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The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016

The Jhilmili intertrappean occurs in between the Dhuma and Pipardehi formations.
Paleocene intertrappean deposits comprise foraminifers of P1a Zone (Keller et al., 2009). They
do not yield palynomorphs, but contain abundant diatoms and sponge spicules. The successively overlying Machagora, Bhutera and Lohara intertrappean deposits occur in between the
Pipardehi and Linga formations, and the UmariaIsra, Imlikheda and Ghat Parasia intertrappean
deposits occur in between the Linga and Multai
formations. They yielded biodegraded organic
material and Glomus-like mycorrhizal fungi only. The palynoflora is recorded from the successively overlying Pindrai, Surli and Tenadi intertrappen beds occur in between the Multai–
Amarwara, Amarwara–Khampa and Khampa–
Kuleru formations, respectively. The important
palynotaxa recorded from these intertrappean
deposits are Cyathidites australis, Ericipites sahnii,
Haloragacidites amolosus, Rhoipites spp., Psilodiporites erdtmanii, Retidiporites spp., Liliacidites
spp.,
Incrotonipollis
neyvelli,
Longapertites
vaneendenburgi, Mulleripollis bolpurensis, Palmaeopollenites spp., Proxapertites operculatus, andSparganiaceaepollenites.
Spinizonocolpites
andProxapertites, which were dominant in the lowermost intertrappean, are not present in these intertrappean deposits. These intertrappeans arealso characterized by high concentration of fungal fruit bodies of fungi microthyriaceae (Phragmothyrites) as well as Pediastrum and algae
Kalviwadithyrites saxenae. The overlying Tenadi
intertrappean in between the Khampa and Kuleru formations yielded mainly Mulleripollis bol-purensis. The stratigraphic position of the Pindrai,
Surli and Tenadi intertrappean deposits is higher
than the Jhilmili intertrappean, which has been
dated as Paleocene on the basis of foraminifera ofP0–P1 age (Keller et al., 2009). Palynology andstratigraphy suggest Paleocene age for the Pindrai, Surli and Tenadi intertrappean deposits.
Magnetostratigraphy
The study of magnetic polarity of 19 volcanic flows associated with intertrappean beds atnine stratigraphic levels between RL 525 to 850 m
was carried out. The lowermost volcanic flow at
the contact of Precambrian basement and successively overlying flow, i.e., upper flow of
MKWS, and the lower flow of Jhilmili indicate
normal polarity. The upper flow of MKFF shows
mixed polarity. The basaltic flow overlying
Jhilmili intertrappean, which contains foraminifers of P1a Zone of Early Paleocene age, indicates reverse polarity. The volcanic flow underlying the Ghat Parasia intertrappean indicatesreverse polarity. After that, all the flows, i.e.,
flow overlying the Ghat Parasia, and upper andlower flows of Pindrai, Surli and Tenadi intertrappean deposits, indicate normal polarity. The
magnetic polarity data indicate 30N–29R–29N
sequence in the study area.
Summing up, palynology and magnetic polarity data in the study area indicate depositionof sediments in humid–semiarid–sub-humid
climate under estuarine to increasingly fresh water depositional conditions during the chrons
30N–29R–29N of Late Maactrichtian to Early
Paleocene.

References
Cookson, I.C., 1947. Plant microfosssils from the lignite of Kergulen Archipelago, in: BAN2ARE Report, Ser. A, II, pp.127–148.
Dilcher, D.L., 1965. Epiphyllous fungi from Eocene
deposits in western Tennessee USA. Palaeontographica B 116, 1–156.
Geological Survey of India, 2000. District resource
map, Chhindwara District, Madhya Pradesh.
Keller, G., Adatte, T., Bajpai, S., Mohabey, D.M.,
Widdowson, M., Khosla, A., Sharma, R., Khosla,
S.C., Getsch, B., Fleitmann, D., Sahani, A., 2009.
K–T transition in Deccan Traps of Central India
marks major marine seaway across India. Earth
Planet. Sci. Lett. 282, 10–23.
102

Samant, B, Mohabey, D.M., 2009. Palynoflora from
Deccan volcano-sedimentary sequence (Cretaceous–Palaeocene transition) of central India;
implications for spatio-temporal correlation. J.
Biosci. 34, 811–823.
Selkirk, D.R., 1975. Tertiary fossil fungi from Kiandra,
New South Wales. Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 100,70–94.
Yedekar, D.B.S., Aramaki, T., Fujii, T., Sano, T., 1996.
Geochemical signature and stratigraphy of
Chhindwara–Jabalpur–Seoni–Mandla sector of
the Eastern Deccan Volcanic province and problem of its correlation. Gondwana Geol. Magazine, Spec. Vol. 2, 49–58.

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western PacificBio- and lithostratigraphy of the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary deposits
in the Komsomolsk section (Russian Far East)
O.S. Urman1, O.S. Dzyuba1, B.N. Shurygin1,2 and G.L. Kirillova3
1Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics, Siberian Branch of RAS, Acad. Koptyug av. 3, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia;

e-mail: urmanos@ipgg.sbras.ru
2Novosibirsk State University, Pirogova str. 2, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
3Kosygin Institute of Tectonics and Geophysics, Far Eastern Branch of RAS, Kim Yu Chen str. 65, Khabarovsk 680000, Russia

The Komsomolsk section (also known as thePivan section) crops out in a series of exposuresat the right bank of the Amur River opposite to
Komsomolsk-on-Amur and runs for over 18 km.
In 1960s, the clastic strata of 6000 m thick were
subdivided into six formations in the area near
Komsomolsk-on-Amur, namely the Ulbin Formation, the Silinka Formation, the Padali Formation, the Gorin Formation, the Pioneer Formation, and the Pivan Formation. The latter
three were usually joined into the Komsomolsk
Group (e.g., Vereshchagin, 1977). The section’s
folded structure was considered as a limb of alarge anticline with a dominant monoclinal
southeast dip. The anticline hinge was suggested to be northwesterly off the Komsomolsk section.
Later, during the more detailed mappingand investigation of the folding character, a setof large isoclinal folds locally faulted was revealed. It was assumed that the sediments previously ascribed to the Ulbin, Padali and Pioneer
formations, having similar rock compositions,are actually the same single unit. This conclusion was then confirmed by different fauna,
which in all the earlier isolated formations are
represented by the Volgian–Valanginian species(e.g., Kirillova, 2009). The Silinka and Pivan
formations occurring in syncline hinges also
turned out to be a single unit having a higher
stratigraphic position. Finally, three namelessstrata were recognised: (1) the stratum ofrhythmic alternation of Volgian age, (2) the siliceous–siltstone stratum of Volgian–Valanginianage, and (3) the sandstone Valanginian stratum(e.g., Kirillova et al., 2002; Kirillova, 2009). The
rhythmic alternation stratum is correlated withthe former Gorin Formation.
The most complete section of the rhythmic
alternation stratum was described at the rightbank of the Amur River near the Pivan wharf;

here, its thickness reaches 700 m. The rhythmic
alternation of sand and siltstone and the subordinate layers and lenses of gravelite and conglomerate are characteristic for the stratum.
During the 2001 Russian–Japanese expedition to
the Komsomolsk section, this stratum was sampled for radiolarian. In the NE stratum’s outcrop, the cherty siltstone with felsic tuff layers
yielded, according to K. Isida (Kirillova et al.,2002), the Late Tithonian radiolarians. The same
stratum contains an exotic block of tectonic melange (120 m); this block comprises chert, cherly
mudstone slate, and limestone and produced the
Early–earliest Late Jurassic radiolarians.
The middle siltstone stratum comprises siltstone, silty sandstone, and a subordinate
amount of small-grained and fine-grained sandstone. The most complete section of the siltstone
stratum (stratotype of the former Pioneer Formation) was described in the Komsomolsk section; here, its thickness reaches 1100 m. For thisstratum, vast lists of bivalves (Buchia, Anopaea,
Inoceramus, and Lima) were compiled by
V.N. Vereschagin, T.D. Zonova, A.A. Kapitsa,
L.D. Tretiakova, V.P. Pokhialainen, andK.V. Paraketsov along with sparse record ofammonite (Thurmanniceras? thurmanni) and occasional plant remnants (e.g., Vereshchagin,
1977; Kirillova, 2009). Only a few of them havebeen illustrated: Buchia aff. jasikovi, Anopaea
pivanensis, A. stempeli, A. savrasovi, A. gerasimovi,
Inoceramus vereshagini, I. cf. vereshagini, I. glasunovi, I. koslovi, I. acuticostatus, I. subardonensis, andLima (Lima) aff. consobrina (e.g., Pokhialainen,
1969; Kapitsa, 1978; Sey et al., 2004).
The upper sandstone stratum conformably
overlies the siltstone one. The former is dominated by medium-grained coarse-layered sandstone with sparse coarse-grained sandstone,
gravelite, sedimentary breccia, siltstone, andbeds of alternation of sandstone and siltstone.
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The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016

The stratum sequence is most fully presented in
the Komsomolsk section; however, it lacks there
its upper horizons. The stratum’s total thickness
is about 800 m. The publications contain illustrations of bivalves Anopaea amurensis and Inoceramus quasineocomiensis (Kapitsa, 1978), and ammonite Sarasinella cf. varians (Sey et al., 2004).
Apparently, the same strata (the formation was
not mentioned) yielded Buchia keyserlingi andB. ex gr. keyserlingi (Sey et al., 2004).
An analysis of the stratigraphic distributionof the Buchia assemblages in the Komsomolsk
section allowed us to establish four successive
beds with Buchia (Urman et al., 2014).
Beds with B. terebratuloides were identified
in the “rhythmic alternation stratum” in which
B. terebratuloides has been found along with
Buchia sp. ind., Malletia sp. ind., and an indefinable fragment of ammonite. The upper boundary of the beds is defined by the change of buchiid assemblages and the first appearance of
B. unschensis. These beds are comparable with
the B. obliqua Zone, which was recognised in thesame volume as the lowermost Upper Volgian
Craspedites okensis ammonite Zone in Siberia, in
the Pechora River basin, and on Franz Josef
Land (Rogov and Zakharov, 2009). At the baseof the B. obliqua Zone, according to V.A. Zakharov (1981, 1987), there are representatives of theindex species along with B. terebratuloides.
Beds with B. unschensis and B. terebratuloides
were identified in the middle part of the “siltstone stratum,” in which numerous B. terebratuloides, B. fischeriana, and B. unschensis typical of
the Volgian–Ryazanian boundary layers havebeen found. These layers in the Komsomolsk
section also provided sparse bivalves Lima sp.
ind. and Inoceramus sp. ind., and a Tethyan ammonite provisionally determined as Pseudosubplanites? sp. The B. unschensis Zone has beenrecognised in many Boreal sections (e.g., Zakharov, 1981, 1987; Jeletzky, 1984); this zone corresponds to the beds with B. unschensis and B. terebratuloides of East Greenland (Surlyk, 1982), andthese are the same beds as identified in the
Komsomolsk section.
Beds with B. volgensis were recognised at
the top part of the “siltstone stratum” by finds oftypical Berriasian B. volgensis and B. okensis. The
latter species is found only in the lower half ofthe beds. The beds also contain scattered rare
104

shells of B. terebratuloides, B. fischeriana (close to
the bottom), B. unschensis, and probably B. aff.
jasikovi illustrated by Sey et al. (2004). Some ofinoceramids, illustrated by A.A. Kapitsa (1978),were found in this part of the section (for discussion see Urman et al., 2014). Beds with B. volgensis correlate with the eponymous Buchia zoneof Siberia, the Pechora River basin, and Svalbard(e.g., Zakharov, 1981, 1987).
Beds with B. inflata and B. keyserlingi were
established in the “sandstone stratum”. They arecomparable to two buchiazones widespread in
the Boreal sections: the B. inflata Zone (lower
upper part of the Lower Valanginian; in someregions, it also includes the uppermost Berriasian) and the B. keyserlingi Zone (upper part of
the Lower Valanginian). A more detailed subdivision of these beds in the Komsomolsk section
did not succeed, because the B. keyserlingi wasseen rarely and was not recorded separatelyfrom B. inflata. Therefore, it is possible that beds
with B. inflata and B. keyserlingi embrace here only the B. inflata Zone.
Cephalopod remains in the Komsomolsk
section are very rare. However, certain intervalsof the section may be correlated with the Berriasian (based on the findings of Pseudosubplanites? sp.) and Valanginian (the findings ofSarasinella cf. varians). The complete absence of
belemnites in the Komsomolsk section possibly
may be explained by the relatively deep environment of its formation. In the modern palaeogeographic scheme of the East-Asian continental
margin for the Jurassic–Cretaceous transition(Volgian–Valanginian), the Komsomolsk section
territory fits the zone of a moderately deepwater continental slope (Kirillova, 2009). Notably, cylindroteuthid belemnites preferred to inhabit shallow depths of probably less than 200 m(e.g., Dzyuba, 2013).
Thus, the stratigraphic subdivision and correlation of the Komsomolsk section with sections in adjacent regions is based mainly onbuchiids. An analysis of the stratigraphic distribution of the Buchia assemblages allowed us toestablish here a sequence of beds with Buchiathat is well comparable with the buchiid zonal
scales of many Boreal regions. Ammonite findings permitted us to correlate some intervals of
the section with the Berriasian and the Valanginian. On the basis of the revision of the pal-Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western Pacificaeontological characteristics and biostratigraphic studies, the Komsomolsk section has gained
significantly updated ages of strata recognised
here. It was established that the “rhythmic alternation stratum” is an earliest Late Volgian inage, the “siltstone stratum” is a latest Late Volgian–Ryazanian, and the “sandstone stratum” isan Early Valanginian. Palaeontological data in-dicate the presence of the large synclinal fold inthe studied outcrops: while approaching toward
the alleged location of the large synclin’s hinge,
the layers gradually youthen from both thesouthwest and northeast.
This is a contribution to the IGCP608 and program 30 of the Presidium of the RAS.

References
Dzyuba, O.S., 2013. Belemnites in the Jurassic–
Cretaceous boundary interval of the Mauryn’ya
and Yatriya River sections, Western Siberia: Biostratigraphic significance and dynamics of taxonomic diversity. Stratigr. Geol. Correl. 21(2), 189–
214.
Jeletzky, J.A., 1984. Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary
beds of Western and Arctic Canada and the
problem of the Tithonian–Berriasian stages in the
Boreal Realm. Geol. Assoc. Canada, Spec. Pap. 2,
175–255.
Kapitsa, A.A., 1978. New species of the Lower Cretaceous inoceramids of the Lower Amur region, in:
Biostratigraphy of the Southern Far East (Phanerozoic). Vladivostok, pp. 65–77 (in Russian).
Kirillova, G. L., Natal’in, B.A., Zyabrev S.V., et al.,2002. Upper Jurassic–Cretaceous deposits of East
Asian continental margin along the Amur River,in: Kirillova, G.L. (Ed.), Field excursion guidebook. Khabarovsk.
Kirillova, G.L. (Ed.), 2009. Middle Amur sedimentarybasin: Geology, geodynamics, and fuel-energetic
resources. DVO RAN, Vladivostok (in Russian).
Pokhialainen, V.P., 1969. Neocomian inoceramids of
the Anadyr–Koryak fold area, in: Jurassic andCretaceous inocerams of Northwest USSR.
SVKNII, Magadan, pp. 124–162 (in Russian).
Rogov, M., Zakharov, V., 2009. Ammonite and bivalve based biostratigraphy and Panboreal correlation of the Volgian Stage. Sci. China Ser.
D-Earth Sci. 52(12), 1890–1909.
Sey, I.I., Okuneva, T.M., Zonova, T.D., et al., 2004. Atlas of the Mesozoic marine fauna of the Russian
Far East. VSEGEI, St. Petersburg (in Russian).
Surlyk, F., Zakharov, V.A., 1982. Buchiid bivalvesfrom the Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceousof East Greenland. Palaeontol. 25, 727–753.
Urman, O.S., Dzyuba, O.S., Kirillova, G.L., Shurygin,
B.N., 2014. Buchia faunas and biostratigraphy of
the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary deposits in the
Komsomolsk section (Russian Far East). Russ. J.
Pac. Geol. 8(5), 346–359.
Vereshchagin, V.N., 1977. Far East Cretaceous System.
Nedra, Leningrad (in Russian).
Zakharov, V.A., 1981. Buchiids and biostratigraphy of
the Boreal Upper Jurassic and Neocomian. Nauka, Moscow (in Russian).
Zakharov, V.A., 1987. The bivalve Buchia and the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary in the Boreal Province. Cretaceous Res. 8, 141–153.

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Environments of conservation of the dinosaurs in the Mesozoic deposits of southeastern West Siberia (Shestakovskii Yar section)
O.N. Zlobina
Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics, Siberian Branch of RAS, Acad. Koptyug av. 3, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia;
e-mail: Zlobina@ngs.ru

A skull and partial skeleton of a small Psittacosaurus named Psittacosaurus sibiricus werediscovered in the coastal cliff of the Kiya Rivernear Shestakovo village (Kemerovo Oblast) in
1953. The age of the deposits comprising skeletal
remains of the dinosaur was dated as an Early
Cretaceous. It is based on the widely spread
opinion that the psittacosaurs reached their acme in Central Asia in the Early Cretaceous, so
fossils of this fauna group serve as indicators of
this epoch. Deposits built up the coastal cliff ofthe Kiya River were attributed to the continental
Ilek Formation. According to the stratotype, itsdistinctive feature is the intercalation of calcareous clay or marl (reddish-brown or cherry-red incolor, often with bluish-green or purple stains),
brown and greenish siltstone, and green finegrained sandstone (Khlonova et al., 1990). The
Ilek Formation (100–760 m thick) formed in the
Chulym-Yenisei facial area during the Berriasianand Valanginian was studied in natural outcrops and drill cores, and dated by the rare
freshwater fauna, skeletal remains of the dinosaur, spores and pollen.
A major discovery was made in this outcrop
in the end of 20th century. Monolithic blocks
were sawed out at different levels and moved
down to for preparation. Further layer-by-layer
preparation (top down) of one block revealed
well preserved skeletal remains, similarly oriented and arranged on one surface, one next tothe other, and belonging at least to three psittacosaurs. In this connection, a hypothesis of their
possible burial during the lifetime was suggested. Such occurrences are rare and unique. Moreover, a smaller animal was found in the othermonolith block, probably belonging to a different species. The lithological study of the nearby
deposits provided the evidence of undisturbed
burial of the first group of dinosaurs confirmed
by grain size distribution and mineralogicalcomposition of the sediments, studied in different layers of the section.
106

The nearby rocks are visibly homogeneous.
They are represented by light-greenish, weakly
cemented silty sandstone or sandy silt, without
any inclusions, and with massive texture. Rare
thin fragments of charred plant detritus were
only documented using microscopic study. Particle-size distribution in the sample taken fromthe surface on which psittacosaurs were standing or lying, demonstrates perfect symmetricalmonomodal spectrum, where the moda is thesize of the most commonly encountered grains(in this case up to 9.7%) corresponds to 74 microns (Fig. 1a). This type of distribution appears
to be the most typical for the sublittoral sediments (underwater coastal slope), formed on thecontinental shelf below the level of the lowest
tide. Deposits characterized by more complex
and usually bimodal curves are formed in theenvironments of tideland zone (upper littoral by
Sverdrup et al., 1942). Spectrum changes in thelayer lying two centimeters above (Fig. 1b).
Mode corresponds to the size of 176 microns,
and the number of clasts with such diameter is
8.6%. The cumulative percentage at the level ofmode (the total content of all particles with a diameter smaller than that of the most common
grains) is 73.5. The distribution curve becomesasymmetrical. The rocks overlying the skeletal
remains tend to be more poorly sorted (Fig. 1c).
The number of grains with the dominant diameter (148 microns) constitutes only 7%, with the
cumulative percentage at the level of mode being 69.3. At this, the content of pelitic fractions(particles with a diameter smaller than 0.01 mm)
is almost unchanged in the sediments, ranging
within 7.9–10.4% from the base to the top of themonolith block. The nature of the change of thecurves indicates the input of coarser material into the sedimentation area from the deposits with
distribution type close to symmetric. The breaking rocks probably also represented facies of theunderwater coastal slope, cropping out onto thesurface as a result of significantly lowered sea-Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western PacificFig. 1. Particle size distribution in the weakly cemented silty sandstone or sandy silt, enclosing Psittacosaurus skeletal
remains.

level. The polymodal type of the distribution istypical for the sandstone from another monolith
block (with smaller animal) (Fig. 1d).
The mineral composition of siltstone andsandstone from different sections appears to be
identical, and it comprises calcite (36%) including pellets, outigenic cement and part of theclasts. Nevertheless, basal type of cementation is
not solid, and it is quickly destructed in the water. Scanning electron microscopy investigation
allows the determination of two types of the calcareous cement (Fig. 2). The first one wasformed in the process of sedimentation of crusts
fouling on calcareous clastic grains as a result of
biochemogenic precipitation of the microcrystalline calcite from seawater. Crusts are round in
shape with a diameter up to 10 microns, andthey overlap each other forming microstructures
similar to the roof tiles. All fragments of a ‘roof
tiles’ are penetrated by frequent and equally oriented tubular micropores (Fig. 2a). The second

type of cement was formed during postsedimentary transformations by perecrystallization of
the first type. Well crystallized calcite crystals
without any micropores are observed in the interstices between the fragments (Fig. 2b). In
some sites, their aggregates form basal type of
cementation.
Small concentrations of organic carbon in
the rocks and the absence of life traces of thebenthic organisms indicate undeveloped trophic
base. It is assumed, that the herbivorous dinosaurs would roam on the slope in search of foodduring spans of low tide, looking for food in theniches of coastal cliff or hiding there from thepredators. Probably, the algal mass accumulated
in niches due to wave processes attracted thepsittacosaurs. Thus, a group of the pasturing animals could be buried under the rock-fall caused
by weathering of sediments formed a steep cliff
and readily swelled on the wetting. Part of
moved sediments occurred above the sea level
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Fig. 2. Types of the calcareous cement.

for a long time that resulted in its transformation
into reddish-brown clay silt of the weathering
crust. Their color is resulted from the oxidation
processes of Fe-, Ti-, Cr- containing minerals(fayalite, amphibole, chromespinellids etc.) presented in clastic parts of the rocks. Several such
lenticular horizons ranging in thickness from tensof centimeters to several meters are observed innatural outcrops in Shestakovskii Yar. Apparently, the described events repeatedly took place on
the paleobasin coast indicating significant fluctuations in sea level. The obtained results contradict
the continental genesis of the Ilek Formation(Khlonova et al., 1990). Classical alluvial rhythms
and remains of the root system of ancient plants

are not observed in this section, and carbonizedplant detritus of different dimensions is rare. At
the same time, skeletal remains of dinosaurs,
crocodiles, turtles, fish, birds and mammals (representatives of the orders Triconodonta andSymmetrodonta) were revealed. According tomany experts, the extinction of the representatives of Symmetrodonta occurred in the Late Jurassic. Thus, the deposits from the Shestakovskii
Yar section were probably formed in the latest Jurassic–earliest Cretaceous. Taking it into account,the south-east regions of Western Siberia can beconsidered as the ancestral homeland of psittacosaurs occupied different regions of Central Asia
in the Early Cretaceous.

References
Khlonova, A.F., Papulov, G.N., Purtova, S.I., Strepetilova V.G., 1990. Non-marine Cretaceous ofWestern Siberia, in: Continental Cretaceous
USSR. FEB AS USSR, Vladivostok.

108

Sverdrup, H.U., Johnson, M.W., Fleming, R.H., 1942.
The oceans: Their physics, chemistry, and biology. Prentice Hall, New York.

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western PacificSession 5
Cretaceous vertebrates of Asia and the Western PacificStable isotope composition of modern and fossil archosaur eggshells as a tracer ofanimal ecology, living environment and reproductive strategy
R. Amiot, N. Lazzerini, Ch. Lécuyer and F. Fourel
CNRS UMR 5276, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 and Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 2 Rue Raphaël Dubois,
69622 Villeurbanne Cedex, France; e-mail: romain.amiot@univ-lyon1.fr

Stable oxygen and carbon isotope compositions of fossil remains from vertebrate mineralized tissues (bones, teeth, scales) have been
widely used to infer past ecologies (Clementz
and Koch, 2001; Amiot et al., 2010) and environmental conditions (Suarez et al., 2014; Amiot
et al., 2015; Domingo et al., 2015; Goedert et al.,2016). Tooth enamel is of primary interest due toits strong resistance to diagenetic processes, andits stable oxygen and carbon isotope compositions of phosphate and carbonate can retain
primary isotopic record, even for fossil remains
dating back to the early Paleozoic (Trotter et al.,2008). However, some vertebrates such as birds
and some dinosaurs are toothless and their bonyremains can be more easily altered, thus limiting
their use as biological or environmental indicators based on their stable isotope compositions.
On the other hand, eggshell remains are abundant in the sedimentary record and have beenfound in deposits dated back to the Late Triassic. Due to their calcitic nature, oxygen and carbon isotope compositions of fossil bird and dinosaur eggshells (δ18Ocalc and δ13Ccalc) areregularly used to reconstruct paleoenvironmental conditions (Sarkar et al., 1991; Montanari etal., 2013). However, the interpretation of δ18Ocalc
values of fossil eggshells has been limited toqualitative variations in local climatic conditions

as oxygen isotope fractionations between calcite,
body fluids and drinking water have not been
determined yet.
For this purpose, eggshell, albumen anddrinking water of extant birds and crocodilians
have been analyzed for their oxygen and carbon
isotope compositions. Relative enrichments in
18O relative to 16O between body fluids anddrinking water of about +2‰ for semi-aquaticbirds and of about +4‰ for terrestrial ones areobserved. Surprisingly, no dependence to bodytemperature on the oxygen isotope fractionation
between eggshell calcite and body fluids is observed, suggesting that bird and crocodile eggshells, for which we determined similar fractionation factors between body water andeggshell calcite, precipitate out of equilibrium.
Two empirical equations relating the δ18Ocalc
value of eggshell calcite to the δ18Ow value of ingested water have been established for terrestrial and semi-aquatic birds.
These various equations have been applied
to fossil eggshells and allowed to demonstrate
their potential use as a tracer of past environments (in terms of air temperature, aridity),
ecology (in terms of aquatic or terrestrial lifestyle) and reproductive strategy (in terms of egg
formation periods, either seasonal or all year
round).

References
Amiot, R., Buffetaut, E., Lécuyer, C., Wang, X., Boudad, L., Ding, Z., Fourel, F., Hutt, S., Martineau,F., Medeiros, M.A., Mo, J., Simon, L., Suteethorn,
V., Sweetman, S., Tong, H., Zhang, F., Zhou, Z.,
2010. Oxygen isotope evidence for semi-aquatic

habits among spinosaurid theropods. Geology
38, 139–142.
Amiot, R., Wang, X., Zhou, Z., Wang, X., Lécuyer, C.,
Buffetaut, E., Fluteau, F., Ding, Z., Kusuhashi,N., Mo, J., Philippe, M., Suteethom, V., Wang, Y.,
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The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016
Xu, X., 2015. Environment and ecology of East
Asian dinosaurs during the Early Cretaceous inferred from stable oxygen and carbon isotopes inapatite. J. Asian Earth Sci. 98, 358–370.
Clementz, M.T., Koch, P.L., 2001. Differentiating
aquatic mammal habitat and foraging ecology
with stable isotopes in tooth enamel. Oecologia
129, 461–472.
Domingo, L., Barroso-Barcenilla, F., Cambra-Moo, O.,2015. Seasonality and paleoecology of the Late
Cretaceous multi-taxa vertebrate assemblage of“Lo Hueco” (Central Eastern Spain). PloS One
10, e0119968.
Goedert, J., Amiot, R., Boudad, L., Buffetaut, E., Fourel, F., Godefroit, P., Kusuhashi, N., Suteethom,V., Tong, H., Watanabe, M.E., Lécuyer, C., 2016.
Preliminary investigation of seasonal patterns
recorded in the oxygen isotope composition oftheropod dinosaur tooth enamel. Palaios 31, 10–
19.

110

Montanari, S., Higgins, P., Norell, M.A., 2013. Dinosaur eggshell and tooth enamel geochemistry as
an indicator of Mongolian Late Cretaceous paleoenvironments. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol.
Palaeoecol. 370, 158–166.
Sarkar, A., Bhattacharya, S.K., Mohabey, D.M., 1991.
Stable-isotope analyses of dinosaur eggshells:
Paleoenvironmental implications. Geology 19,
1068–1071.
Suarez, C.A., González, L.A., Ludvigson, G.A., Kirkland, J.I., Cifelli, R.L., Kohn, M.J., 2014. Multitaxa isotopic investigation of paleohydrology inthe Lower Cretaceous Cedar Mountain Formation, Eastern Utah, USA: Deciphering effectsof the Nevadaplano Plateau on regional climate.
J. Sediment. Res. 84, 975–987.
Trotter, J.A., Williams, I.S., Barnes, C.R., Lécuyer, C.,
Nicoll, R.S., 2008. Did cooling oceans trigger Ordovician biodiversification? Evidence from conodont thermometry. Science 321, 550–554.

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western Pacific

Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) vertebrate fossils from inland basins of Indian
peninsula – their palaeogeographic significanceA. Bhadran
Geological Survey of India, 27 Jawarlal Nehru Road, Kolkata 700016, India; e-mail: arun.bhadran.gsi@gov.in

The Indian subcontinent had a dynamic geographic and geologic history, i.e., key to understanding major palaeobiogeographic and macroevolutionary events in Earth history,
including the Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg)
mass extinction event. In Central India, the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) is represented by
the Lameta Formation in Jabalpur, Bagh area in
Jhabua and Dhar districts of Madhya Pradesh,
Pisdura–Dongargaon area in Chandrapur andNagpur districts of Maharashtra, and Balasinor–
Rahioli area of Kheda and Panchmahal districtsof Gujarat. In all these areas, the Lameta Formation is characterised by its vertebrate fossil
content, particularly dinosaurs. Several workers
described faunal assemblages from the Lameta
Formation in these areas from time to time.
There are some important features of vertebrate
faunal assemblages.
Jabalpur. The Jabalpur Lameta beds are
considered to be more significant due to richpreservation of dinosaurian remains. Rich assemblage consists of caudal vertebrae, tooth,
coprolites and skulls of Sauropoda, Theropoda,
and Ornithopoda, i.e., Titanosaurus indicus andAntarctosaurus septentrionalis (sauropods); Indosuchus raptorius, I. matleyi, Lametasaurus indicus, Composuchus solus, Laevisuchus indicus, Jubbalppuria tenuis, Dryptosauroides (?) grandis,
Ornithomimoides mobilis, and O. barasimlensis(theropods); Brachypodasaurus gravis (ornithopods) (Lydekker, 1877; Matley, 1924; Huene andMatley, 1933; Chatterjee, 1978; Mohabey, 1987;
Jain and Bandopadyay, 1997; Loyal et al., 1998;
Demic et al., 2009). Egg nests and eggs are represented by Megaloolithus dhoridungriensis (Mohabey, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2001a,b).
Nand–Dongargaon. Dinosaur remains consists of Titanosaurus indicus, T. blandfordi, T. colberti, and Laplatasurus madagascariensis (Lydekker, 1890; Chakravarti, 1934; Chatterjee, 1978;
Carrano et al., 2010). Egg nests and eggs include
Megaloolithus matleyi and M. megadermus (Jainand Sahini, 1985; Shukla and Srivastava, 2008).

The Lameta beds of Maharashtra deposited inalluvial-limnic semi-arid conditions during theMaastrichtian (Mohabey, 1990, 1996; Udhoji and
Mohabey, 1991; Mohabey and Udhoji, 1993).
Balasinor–Jhabua. This inland basin is important because of well preservation of skeletal
remains, egg nests and eggs of dinosaurs in theBalasinor and Rahioli localities of the Kheda andPanchmahal districts in Gujarat. It is interpreted
to be the deposits of sheet washed into palustrine environment (Mohabey, 1998, 2001a,b). Dinosaur remains consist of Antarctosaurs septentrionalis (sauropods) and Rajasaurus narmadensis(thereopods) (Huene and Matley, 1933; Mohabey, 1987; Wilson and Upchurch, 2003; Wilson
et al., 2003). Nests and eggs include Megaololithus rahioliensis, M. phensaniesis, M. khempuensis,
M. megadermus, and M. balasinorensis (Huene
and Matley, 1933; Mohabey, 1983, 1998; Khosla
and Sahni, 1995). Using oxygen and carbon isotope analysis, fluvial or mostly lacustrine environment of deposition were proposed, particularly for the egg-bearing horizons.
Salbardi basin. The Lameta sedimentationin Salbardi took place after Gondwana sedimentation. The lower part of the Lameta succession
is mainly represented by arenaceous and argillaceous sediments that show a change in the energy conditions in the depositing medium. In theupper part, the succession is mostly calcareous,evidencing the shallowing of the basin and alkaline nature of the depositing medium (Roopesh
and Srivastava, 2015). Salbardi basin is found to
be productive for dinosaurian remains. It contains fragmentary bones preserved in lightgreen-coloured, medium-grained sandstone.
Srivastava and Mankar (2013, 2015) have reported fragmentary remains of right ulna of Titanosaurus colberti, egg nest and eggs belonging to
Megaloolithus oogenus of the family Megaloolithidae. Arun and Varsha (Aglawe andBhadran, 2014; Bhadran and Aglawe, 2015) reported turtle and theropod (abelisaurid?) bones
from the same locality.
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Comparison of the Salbardi area with other areas of the Lameta Formation occurrenceshows that it was nearly similar in size as the
Jabalpur, Rahioli and Nand–Dongargaon basins. The dinosaurian remains including bones
and eggs are indicative of channel to point bar
deposition under sub-arid condition. The

study of this new location allows the modification of earlier proposed palaeogeography ofLameta sedimentation in larger geographicalextent. In conclusion, a new inland basin has
been identified for Lameta sedimentation, i.e.
the Salbardi–Belkher (Roopesh and Srivastava,2015).

References
Aglawe, V.A., Bhadran, A., 2014. First report of turtle
bones and occurrence of dinosaurian bones from
Lameta Formation, Ghorpend village, Salbuldi
area, Betul District, Madhya Pradesh. e-News 30,
GSI, CR.
Bhadran, A., Aglawe, V.A., 2015. First report of a Theropod (Dinosauria) from Upper Cretaceous(Maastrichtian) Lameta Formation of Salbardi
Basin, Betul District, Madhya Pradesh. Indian J.
Geosci. 69, 131–136.
Carrano, M.T., Wilson, J.A., Barrett, P.M., 2010. The
history of dinosaur collecting in Central India,
1828–1947. Geol. Soc. London Spec. Publ. 343,
161–173.
Chakravarti, D.K., 1934. On a stegosaurian humerus
from the Lameta beds of Jubbulpore. Q. J. Geol.
Min. Metall. Soc. India 5, 75–79.
Chatterjee, S., 1978. Indosuchus and Indosaurus, Cretaceous carnosaurs from India. J. Paleontol. 52,
570–580.
Demic, M.D., Wilson, J.A., Chatterjee, S., 2009. The titanosaur (Dinosauria: Sauropoda) osteoderm
record: review and first definitive specimen from
India. J. Vertebr. Paleontol. 29, 165–177.
Huene, F.B. von, Matley, C.A., 1933. The Cretaceous
Saurischia and Ornithischia of the Central
Provinces of India. Mem. Geol. Surv. India.
Paleontol. Indica 21, 1–74.
Jain, S.L., Bandopadyay, S., 1997. New titanosaurid(Dinosauria: Sauropopda) from the Late Cretaceous of Central India. J. Vertebr. Paleontol. 17,
114–136.
Jain, S.L., Sahni, A., 1985. Dinosaur eggshell fragments from the Lameta Formation at Pisdura,
Chandrapur district, Maharashtra. Geosci. J. 2,
211–220.
Khosla, A., Sahni, A., 1995. Parataxonomic classification of Late Cretaceous dinosaur eggshell from
India. J. Palaeontol. Soc. India 40, 87–102.
Loyal, R.S., Mohabey, D.M., Khosla, A., Sahni, A.,
1998. Status and palaeobiology of the Late Cretaceous Indian theropods with description of new
theropod eggshell oogenus and oospecies, Ellipsoolithus khedaensis from the Lameta Formation,
district Kheda, Gujarat, western India. GAIA 15,
379–387.
112

Lydekker, R., 1877. Note of new and other vertebrates
from Indian Tertiary and Secondary rocks. Rec.
Geol. Surv. India 10, 38–41.
Lydekker, R., 1890. Note on certain vertebrate remains from Nagpur district. Rec. Geol. Surv. India XXIII, 20–24.
Matley, C.A., 1924. Note on an armoured dinosaur
from the Lameta beds of Jubbulpore. Rec. Geol.
Surv. India 55, 142–164.
Mohabey, D.M., 1983. Note on the occurrence of dinosaurian fossil eggs from infratrappean limestone
in Kheda district, Gujarat. Curr. Sci. 52, 1194.
Mohabey, D.M., 1987. Juvenile sauropod dinosaur
from Upper Cretaceous Lameta Formation ofPanchmahal district, Gujarat, India. J. Geol. Soc.
India 30, 210–216.
Mohabey, D.M., 1990. Dinosaur eggs from Lameta
Formation of Western and Central India: Theiroccurrence and nesting behaviour, in: Sahni, A.,
Jolly, A. (Eds.), Cretaceous event stratigraphy
and correlation of the Indian non-marine strata.
Panjab University, Chandigarh, pp. 18–21.
Mohabey, D.M., 1996. Depositional environment ofLameta Formation (Late Cretaceous) of NandDongergaon inland basin, Maharshtra: The fossil
and lithological evidences. Mem. Geol. Soc. India37, 363–386.
Mohabey, D.M., 1998. Systematics of Indian Upper
Cretaceous dinosaur and chelonian eggshells. J.
Vertebr. Paleontol. 18, 384–362.
Mohabey, D.M., 2000. Understanding community
structure, nesting and extinction of Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Indian dinosaurs: Evidences from eggs and nests. Gondawana Geol.
Magazine 15, 1–23.
Mohabey, D.M., 2001a. Dinosaurs eggs and dung (fecal mass) from the Late Cretaceous of Central
India, dietary implications. Geol. Surv. India,
Spec. Publ. 64, 605–615.
Mohabey, D.M., 2001b. Indian dinosaur eggs:
A review. J. Geol. Soc. India 58, 479–508.
Mohabey, D.M., Udhoji, S.G., 1993. Palaeoenvironmental interpretation of Lameta Formation (Late
Cretaceous) of Nand area, Nagpur district, Maharashtra. Gondwana Geol. Magazine, Spec. Vol.
2, 349–364.

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western PacificRoopesh S.M., Srivastava, A.K., 2015. Salbardi–
Belkher inland basin: A new site of Lameta sedimentation at the border of districts Amravati,
Maharashtra and Betul, Madhya Pradesh, Central India. Curr. Sci. 109, 1337–1344.
Shukla, U.K., Srivastava, R., 2008. Lizard eggs from
Upper Cretaceous Lameta Formation of Jabalpur, Central India, with interpretation of depositional environments of the nest-bearing horizon.
Cretaceous Res. 29, 674–686.
Srivastava, A.K., Mankar, R.S., 2013. A dinosaurian
ulna from a new locality of Lameta Succession,
Salbardi Area, districts Amravati, Maharashtra
and Betul, Madhya Pradesh. Curr. Sci. 105, 900–
901.
Srivastava, A.K., Mankar, R.S., 2015. Megaloolithus
dinosaur nest from the Lameta Formation of
Salbardi area, districts Amravati, Maharashtra

and Betul, Madhya Pradesh. J. Geol. Soc. India
85, 457–462.
Udhoji, S.G., Mohabey, D.M., 1991. A final report onpalaeontological studies of fresh waterintertrappean (Lametas) and intertrappean
formations in part of Maharshtra (under IGCP
Project 216), in: Unpublished Rep. F. S. 1984–85
to 1988–89, pp. 49.
Wilson, J.A., Upchurch, P.A., 2003. Revision of Titanosaurus Lydekker (Dinosauria–Sauropoda), thefirst dinosaur genus with Gondwana distributuon. J. Syst. Palaeontol. 1, 125–160.
Wilson, J.A., Sereno, P.C., Srivastava, S., Batt, D.K.,
Khosla, A., Sahni, A., 2003. A new abelisaurid(Dinosauria–Sauropoda) from the Lameta Formation (Cretaceous: Maastrichtian) of India.
Contrib. Mus. Palaeontol. Univ. Michigan 31, l–
42.

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Results of paleontological excavations 2014–2015 held by the Kemerovo Regional
Museum at the Early Cretaceous Shestakovo vertebrate localities
N.V. Demidenko1 and E.N. Maschenko2
1Kemerovo Regional Museum, Sovetsky av. 55, Kemerovo 650000, Russia; e–mail: natdem61@mail.ru
2Borissiak Paleontological Institute of the RAS, Street trade–Union 123, Moscow 117647, Russia

Introduction
The Russia’s largest complex of localities of
Early Cretaceous vertebrates is situated near thevillage Shestakovo (Chebulа District, Kemerovo
Oblast). In 2013, the Kemerovo Regional Museum (KRM) adopted the program, which included excavation in the Shestakovo 3 locality. In
2014–2015, the excavations were carried out by
the joint team of KRM and Borissiak Paleontological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (PIN RAS, Moscow). The result of the excavation was the discovery of site of the uniquemass death of at least 12 individuals of Psittacosaurus sibiricus and other terrestrial vertebrates(Lopatin et al., 2015).
The Shestakovo is the second paleontological site of Russia, where the burial of complete
skeletons of Early Cretaceous dinosaurs was
discovered (Maschenko et al., 2014). In addition,
the specimens of diverse fauna of terrestrial vertebrates belonging to more than eight groups
were found there (Rozhdestvensky, 1960; Leshchinskiy et al., 1997, 2000; Voronkevich, 1998;
Alifanov et al., 1999; Efimov and Leshchinskiy,2000). Since 1953, dozens of identifiable bones,
teeth, hundreds of fragments belonging not only
to different types of dinosaurs, flying reptiles,
amphibians, birds, but also to other groups ofreptiles (turtles, crocodiles, lizards, etc.), andMesozoic mammals were revealed in theShestakovo site (Leshchinskiy et al., 1997; Maschenko and Lopatin, 1998; Averianov et al.,
2002; Lopatin et al., 2010).
Results and discussion
Psittacosaurus sibiricus discovered at theShestakovo localities is a separated group of
Psittacosurus dinosaurs endemic to Kuzbass area
(Averianov et al., 2006).
Until 2013, the excavations and research of
the fossils from the Shestacovo localities werecarried out on irregular base by the researchersof PIN RAS, Zoological Institute of the RAS,
114

Saint Petersburg State University and Tomsk
State University.
In 2013, a major complex research was carried out by KRM at the Shestakovo locality andadopted to the research program “Paleontological study of fossils in Paleozoic and Mesozoic
deposits of the Kemerovo region”. The license
for the use of subsurface resources aimed at collecting mineralogical, paleontological and othergeological samples in the area of “Kiya supporting open–pit", "Kiya–Sertinsky complex”, and“Antibes” located in Tisul, Chebula and Mariinsk districts of the Kemerovo Oblast was obtained. In 2015, this license was extended until
2020.
In 2013, KRM fulfilled organizational andmanagerial works including legal registration ofactivities at the Shestakovo localities and concluded a partner’s agreement with PIN RAS toundertake a joint research of the Shestakovo site.
It was considered necessary due to the fact thatPIN RAS is the leading specialized scientific organization in Russia conducting paleontologicalresearches as a part of scientific programs andgrants offered by the Government of the RussianFederation.
Since 2014, the field works have been carried out in the Chebula District at two localities
of Early Cretaceous terrestrial fauna: the Shestakovo 1 (Kiya River bluff), about 500 m downstream from the Shestakovo village, and theShestakovo 3, about 1.5 km south-east from theShestakovo village.
The fossils were regularly collected at theslopes of the Kiya River bluff (Shestakovo 1). In
the course of these studies, a large number of
Late Pleistocene mammals were found including woolly mammoth, Pleistocene bison, woolly rhinoceros, wolf, reindeer, Pleistocene hors.
In addition to these, the fossils of Early Cretaceous vertebrates, such as giant dinosaurs (sauropods) and tyrannosaurid dinosaurs were
found.

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western Pacific

In 2014, KRM started the excavation in thearea of 2x8 m with the altitude of 7 m above theroad level. In 1 m below the soil, a level of Early
Cretaceous alluvial deposits including terrestrial
vertebrate fossils was discovered. The bon-bad
layer is composed of brownish-red and greenishgray solid clay. Sculls, fractions of bones andfragments of skeletons of Early Cretaceous vertebrates (Protosuchia, Tagarosuchus kulemzini, Lacertilia (Agamidae) and dinosaur Psittacosaurus sibiricus) were found there. The bone-bearing lens
was located at the level of 0.3 m under bon-bad
layer. The characters of the bone-bearing lens taphonomy demonstrated that the examined pieceof about 1 m wide and 4.5 m long is extended
from north-east to south-west. The thickness of
the lens was approximately 60–70 cm.
The lens is unique including a lot of complete Psittacosaurus skeletons presented in anatomic position in situ. The taphonomy peculiarities suggest that the death of dinosaur group,
consisting of specimen of different ages, was theresult of a catastrophe. It is probable that moving along the temporary stream bed they wereburied by a mud flow. Such type of a taphonomy has never been previously obtained from theShestakovo locality or at any other locality in
Russia (Averianov et al., 2006; Lopatin et al.,2015).
The field season 2015 revealed the diverse
factors of genesis of the Shestakovo deposits andrelatively diverse conditions of Early Cretaceous
vertebrates’ burials. Within the Ilek Formation,
the researchers of PIN RAS discovered at least
two layers with traces of sand ripple divided
with a 10 cm thick layer of siltstone at the 220–240 cm from the basement of the altitude scale of
the Shestakovo 3 locality. These layers are preserved areas of a shallow sea lagoon with tracesof marine invertebrates (presumably the channels of polychaete worms), where clay deposits
containing fossil vertebrates were formed. Suchtraces were revealed for the first time in the Early Cretaceous lagoon in the Shestokovo site. It is
the true evidence of the formation of a part of
the Ilek Formation in the soundings of shallow
sea.

Conclusion
The scientific description of the discovered
paleontological materials obtained during the
excavations in 2014–2015 is being performed by
the researchers of KRM Department of Nature.
Their research activities are systematically announced to museum visitors. The materials
serve as the basis of the “Shestakovo Dinosaurs”
section of the new exhibition “Kemerovo region
as a unique natural monument” opened in August 2015. The fragments and complete skeletons of Psittacosaurus sibiricus, Crocodylomorpha,
the fragments of sauropod skeletons found at
Shestakovo 1 as well as the traces of sand ripple
from the soundings of shallow sea are exhibited
there. A joint exhibition of KRM and PIN RAS
has been prepared. The exhibition will be held
as a part of the permanent display in the Dinosaur Hall of PIN RAS Paleontological Museumin Moscow.
The project includes: (1) study and restoration of the largest Psittacosaurus sibiricus skeleton; (2) creation of a virtual model of Psittacosaurus sibiricus on the basis of measuring andscanning of original and restored bones; (3) construction of a volumetric authentic Psittacosaurus
skeleton supported by a still construction; and(4) preparation of a full-sized plastic copy of thedinosaur.
In the course of the dinosaur’s skeleton
examination, the scientists study the lifestyle,morphology and some behavioral features ofthese reptiles. Skeleton model is prepared in
the quadrupedal position using the supporting firm construction also showing the abilityof bipedal motion, which is the result of ecological peculiarities of dinosaur’s habitat andlifestyle.
This exhibition is a significant event in cultural and scientific life, because Russian museums have not yet displayed complete dinosaurs
excavated in Russia.
Keywords
Kemerovo Regional Museum, Early Cretaceous,
Shestakovo localities, Psittacosaurus sibiricus, excavation, field work.

References
Alifanov, V.R., Efimov, M.B., Novikov, I.V., Morales,M., 1999. A new psittacosaur complex of tetrapods
from the Lower Cretaceous Shestakovo locality(Southern Siberia). Rep. Acad. Sci. USSR 369, 491–
493 (in Russian).
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The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016
Averianov, A.O., Voronkevich, A.V, Maschenko, E.N.,
Leshchinskiy, S.V., Fayngertz, A.V., 2002. A sauropod foot from the Early Cretaceous of Western
Siberia, Russia. Acta Palaeontol. Polonica 47,
117–124.
Averianov, A.O., Voronkevich, A.V, Leshchinskiy,
S.V., Fayngertz, A.V., 2006. A ceratopsian dinosaur Psittacosaurus sibiricus from the Early Cretaceous of West Siberia, Russia and its phylogenetic relationships. J. Syst. Palaeontol. 4, 359–395.
Efimov, M.B., Leshchinskiy, S.V., 2000. The first finding of a fossil crocodile skull in Siberia, in: Komarov, A.V. (Ed.), Materials of the Regional Conference of the Geologists of Siberia, Far East, andNorth East of Russia, Vol. 2. GalaPress, Tomsk,
pp. 361–363 (in Russian).
Leshchinskiy, S.V., Voronkevich, A.V., Fayngertz,
A.V., Schikhovtzeva, L.G., 1997. Some aspects of
taphonomy and stratigraphic position of the localities of the Shestakovo complex of Early Cretaceous vertebrates, in: Podobina, V.M. (Ed.),
Questions of geology and palaeontology of Siberia. Tomskii Gos. Univ., Tomsk, pp. 83–90 (inRussian).
Leshchinskiy, S.V., Fayngertz, A.V., Voronkevich,
A.V., Maschenko, E.N., Averianov, A.O., 2000.
Preliminary results of the investigation of theShestakovo localities of Early Cretaceous vertebrates, in: Komarov, A.V. (Ed.), Materials of the116

Regional Conference of the Geologists of Siberia,
Far East, and North East of Russia, Vol. 2.
GalaPress, Tomsk, pp. 363–366 (in Russian).
Lopatin, A.V., Maschenko, E.N., Averianov, A.O.,
2010. A new genus of triconodont mammals
from the Early Cretaceous of Western Siberia.
Dokl. Biol. Sci. 433, 282–285.
Lopatin, A.V., Maschenko, E.N., Tarasenko, К.К.,Podlesnov, А.V., Demidenko, N.V., Kuzmina,
Е.А., 2015. A unique burial site of Early Cretaceous vertebrates in Western Siberia (the Shestakovo 3 locality, Kemerovo Province, Russia).
Dokl. Biol. Sci. 462, 148–151.
Maschenko, E.N., Lopatin, A.V., 1998. First record ofan Early Cretaceous triconodont mammal in Siberia. Bull. Inst. R. Sci. Nat. Belg., Sci. Terre 68,
233–236.
Maschenko, E.N., Feofanova, О.А., Demidenko, N.V.,
Kuzmina, Е.А., 2014. Looking for a Siberian dinosaur. Sci. Life 11, 74–80 (in Russian).
Rozhdestvensky, A.K., 1960. Locality of Lower Cretaceous dinosaurs in Kuzbass. Paleontol. Zh. 2, 165(in Russian).
Voronkevich, A.V., 1998. A large representative of thegenus Psittacosaurus from the locality Shestakovo-3, in: Vyltsan, I.A. (Ed.), Actual questions of
the geology and geography of Siberia: Materialsof the scientific conference. Vol. 1. Tomskii Gos.
Univ., Tomsk, pp. 190–193 (in Russian).

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western PacificHistorical stages of natural science collection formationin the Kemerovo Regional Museum
O.A. Feofanova
Kemerovo Regional Museum, Sovetsky av. 51, Kemerovo 650000, Russia; e–mail: feofanova42@yandex.ru

In the Kemerovo Regional Museum, there
are more than 2.000 depositary items related tonatural science collections. These are geological,
zoological, botanical and paleontological collections.
The museum and its collections have nearly
100 years of history. In 1926, the Shcheglovsk
city (now the Kemerovo city) became the administrative center of the Kuznetsk Uyezd (now the
Kemerovo Oblast) (Tivyakov, 1995). This young
town and the region witnessed an active construction of industrial enterprises as well as aconstant flow of people. There was a need for
education and training of workers and young
people. To fill this need, some sectors of politicaleducation were formed. In particular, a resolution for the formation of the Regional Museum
was adopted at the session of a planned meeting
under the District Committee of Public Education on September 27, 1927 (Kitova, 1999). It was
assumed that the museum will display the materials showing the economic state of the region,
its environmental conditions, the history of
revolution and ethnography. The museum was
opened on October 6, 1929. After renaming of
the Shcheglovsk in 1932, the museum got thename Kemerovo City Museum.
Development of museum holdings wasstarted by the members of the Kuznetsk DistrictSociety of Local History in 1928 even before
the museum opened to the public. By the
opening day, the collection exhibits reachedabout 600 units. In the process of collecting
exhibits and creating displays, the priority
was given to the industrial and agriculturaldevelopment of the region. This direction of
museum development was determined by theCommunist Party and the Soviet government.
Years before, the war was resulted in acceleration of industrial development associated withthe strengthening of the state's defense potential. In this regard, the main goal of regional
museums was to study industrial forces of thecountry (Ivanova, 1963).

There is little information left on the constitution of the natural science collection formed in
the early years of the Kemerovo Regional Museum. Archive was lost, as the museum had repeatedly moved, especially during the Great
Patriotic War. That is why many exhibits anddocuments were lost (Kravtsova, 1999). Onlysome of the geological and paleontological samples, stuffed animals and skins remained.
A new stage of museum’s history began in
1957, when it was moved to the building on the
Sovetsky Avenue (now it is a building number55) and was reopened after a massive reorganization. Since the early 1960’s, museum workers
started to collect new exhibits, their systematization, study and display. Ethnographical, historical and archaeological expeditions were organized, that also provide the collections of natural
materials.
In 1970s–80s, the museum staff organizedmultipurpose expeditions on the territory of the
Kemerovo Oblast, where museum materials on
specific topics were collected: industry, agriculture, education, culture, environment, everyday
life, etc. During this period, the museum organized several expeditions focused on the mineral search and plants collecting for the herbaria,
animal skins and stuffed animals were alsobought. During 1960s–1980s, the museum
worked in close collaboration with geological
exploration organizations and coal-mining enterprises. Through such cooperation, the collection was enriched with a large number of geological items. During the exploration anddevelopment of mineral deposits, geologists andminers revealed numerous fossils, including
mammoth fauna, animal bones, remains of calcareous skeletons of marine invertebrates, petrified wood and leaf imprints.
In the early 2000’s, the number of new contributions decreased. The difficulties derived
from the change of enterprises ownership forms
as well as the lack of sufficient funds for thepurchase of rare and valuable items.
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The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016

Today, the Kemerovo Regional Museum
has developed and adopted scientific concept
for the acquisition of exhibits. It is based on theanalysis of available collections, the definition of
main directions for a long-term acquisition. Oneof such directions is the collection of paleontological objects and the creation of a new permanent exhibition that reflects the evolution of lifeon the Kuzbass territory.
The new exhibition should represent theunique geological and paleontological naturemonuments of the Kemerovo Oblast and show
the formation of the modern image of the region. To achieve this goal, the Kemerovo Regional Museum implemented several projects.
The first one was the temporary exhibition
called “12 Steps of Evolution” dedicated to the70th anniversary of the Kemerovo Oblast. The
exposition was opened in KRM Department of
Nature on October 15, 2012 and consisted ofthree sections: “The Ancient Inhabitants of theSeas”, “Terrible Lizards – the Dinosaurs” and“Ice Age” covering long time interval from the
Paleozoic to the Cenozoic. The exhibition displayed paleontological items collected on the
territory of Kuzbass and in other regions of
the world. Skeletons of Psittacosaurus sibiricus
Voronkevich et Averianov found near the village Shestakovo were displayed for the firsttime.
However, most of the exhibition items are
owned by Mr. Grebnev, a private collector from
Novosibirsk, including fossils of dinosaurs fromthe Shestakovo locality. In order to create apermanent exhibition, the museum must haveits own collection of depositary items. At thattime, museum’s paleontological collection had
almost no fossils representing life forms of
Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras. At the same time,
it is a promising region for paleontologicalstudy, as it is the homeland of some Devonian
marine invertebrates and Cretaceous continental
fauna. In 2013, the Kemerovo Regional Museum
initiated the organization of scientific research of
Early Cretaceous deposits containing vertebrates
in the Shestakovo locality, one of the largest andmost promising dinosaurs burials in Russia (Alifanov et al., 1999; Mashchenko et al., 2014). The
museum developed a program of scientific andexhibition research “Paleontological study of118

fossils in Paleozoic and Mesozoic deposits of the
Kemerovo Region”, and also got a license for theuse of subsurface resources in order to collectgeological materials. In 2015, the license was extended until 2020.
The first stage of the implementation of
paleontological research program was the organization of excavations in the Shestakovo locality. An agreement between the museum andBorissiak Paleontological Institute of the Russian
Academy of Sciences (PIN RAS) was signed to
implement joint researches in Shestakovo locality. In 2014, the museum expedition started the
excavations in the Shestakovo 3 locality in collaboration with PIN RAS team.
Today, the museum has reached new outstanding results in the research of the Shestakovo locality. During the expeditions of 2014–2015,
more than 1.500 paleontological items were collected, and new bone-bearing layers were also
discovered with mass burials of skeletons of
Psittacosaurus sibiricus (Lopatin et al., 2015).
The next stage of the program involves thecreation of a scientific center on the basis of the
Kemerovo Regional Museum. This year, the department of research and expeditions called“Paleontological Research Laboratory” was established at the museum. The department hasmodern equipment for mechanical cleaning andchemical treatment of fossils. The members ofthe department currently organize expeditions
to collect paleontological materials and to perform excavations in the Shestakovo locality.
They also make preparation of paleontologicalfossils obtained in the course of excavations aswell as prepare them to be displayed.
In the future, we plan to deepen the cooperation and to organize joint work with scientificand educational institutions in the region andthe Russian Federation. Thus, the Kemerovo Regional Museum will be a platform for long-termscientific research carried out by scientists andPh.D. students in the field of paleontology.
Moreover, new department will serve as aground for various cultural and educational activities that contribute to the popularization of
paleontology among people.
Keywords
Collection, museum, historical stages, Shestakovo.

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western Pacific

References
Alifanov, V.R., Efimov, M.B., Novikov, I.V., Morales,M., 1999. A new psittacosaur complex of tetrapods from the Lower Cretaceous Shestakovo locality (Southern Siberia). Rep. Acad. Sci. USSR
369, 491–493 (in Russian).
Ivanova, O.V., 1963. Museum construction in the timeof prewar five-year plans (1928–1941), in:Razgon, A.M. (Ed.), Essays on the history ofmuseology in the USSR. Sovetskaya Rossiya,
Moscow, 86–89 (in Russian).
Kitova, L.Y., 1999. History of Kemerovo Regional Museum creation (1920s–1930s). Research: Regional
History Yearbook 5, 11–22 (in Russian).

Kravtsova, L.P., 1999. Kemerovo Regional Museum:Meeting the anniversary. Research: Regional
History Yearbook 5, 7–11 (in Russian).
Lopatin, A.V., Maschenko, E.N., Tarasenko, К.К.,Podlesnov, А.V., Demidenko, N.V., Kuzmina,
Е.А., 2015. A unique burial site of Early Cretaceous vertebrates in Western Siberia (the Shestakovo 3 locality, Kemerovo Province, Russia).
Dokl. Biol. Sci. 462, 148–151.
Maschenko, E.N., Feofanova, О.А., Demidenko, N.V.,
Kuzmina, Е.А., 2014. Looking for a Siberian dinosaur. Sci. Life 11, 74–80 (in Russian).
Tivyakov, S.D., 1995. Administrative and territorial
division of Kuznetsk land. Research: Regional
History Yearbook 4, 8–9 (in Russian).

119

The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016

Fossil vertebrates from the Late Cretaceous Tamagawa Formation (Turonian)of Kuji City, Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan
R. Hirayama1, T. Takisawa2, K. Sasaki3, T. Sonoda4, M. Yoshida5, A. Takekawa5,
Sh. Mitsuzuka6, Y. Kobayashi7, T. Tsuihiji8, R. Matsumoto9, M. Kurosu10,
Y. Takakuwa11, S. Miyata12 and Y. Tsutsumi13
1School of International Liberal Studies, Waseda University, Nishiwaseda 1-6-1, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 169-8050, Japan;

e-mail: renhirayama@gmail.com
2Kuji Amber Museum, Kuji, Japan
3Kuji City Office, Kuji, Japan
4Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum, Katsuyama, Japan
5Graduate School of Science, the University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
6Nippon Koei Co., Ltd., Shizuoka, Japan
7Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
8Faculty of Science, the University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
9Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of Natural History, Odawara, Japan
10China University of Geosciences, Beijing, China
11Gunma Museum of Natural History, Tomioka, Japan
12Josai University, Tokyo, Japan
13National Museum of Nature and Science, Tsukuba, JapanThe Tamagawa Formation in Kuji Group of
Kuji City, Iwate Prefecture of northeastern Japanis the richest geological unit bearing the Late
Cretaceous terrestrial vertebrates as well as richambers in this country. More than one thousand
vertebrate fossils have been found from about
the 20 cm thick coaly mudstone layer and overlying 1 m thick marine sandstone bed of theTamagawa Formation since 2005. Fission track
dating carried out in the volcanic tuff layer interbedded between the mudstone and marine
sandstone units indicates a Turonian age (Tsutsumi, in preparation).
Sharks (elasmobranchs) are known by 110
isolated teeth of Scapanorhynchus, Cretolamna, Cretodus, and Protolamna as well as by vertebrae andpresumed coprolites from the sandstone bed.
Turtles (order Testudines) are the mostabundant vertebrates (441 specimens in total),
identified as the Adocidae (genus Adocus), Trionychidae,
Nanhsiungchelyidae,
Lindholmemydidae, and Carettochelyidae. Most of
turtle remains are isolated shell elements,
whereas few cranial and appendicular materials
were collected. Adocus sp. from the Tamagawa
Formation seems the most derived species ofthis genus in the possession of extremely wide
marginal scales and the loss of cervical scale ofcarapace. Largest specimen of Adocus in this locality suggests an individual with 70 cm longshell.
120

Crocodiles (order Crocodyliformes) are next
abundant group (105 specimens in total). Its
amphicoelous vertebrae, osteoderms and dental
morphology suggest that they were the members of neosuchian grade, possibly close to thegenus Paralligator.
Twenty three isolated almost cylindricalteeth of sauropods (order Saurischia) have beencollected, whereas other dinosaurs (Theropoda
and Ornithischia) are known by few limb bones
and isolated teeth. A wing digital bone of medium size pterosaur (order Pterosauria) was foundin 2010. Two isolated vertebrae from the sandstone bed are identified as the first known
Choristodera from the Upper Cretaceous of
Asia.
Except two partially articulated turtle shellof Adocus, all terrestrial vertebrate fossils frombone bed inter-bedded by marine sandstone layers are isolated and fragmentary. This occurrence suggests that they were transported byriver stream near the mouth. Abundance of sauropod teeth seems unique as the Late Cretaceous
biota.
Fauna and flora of the Kuji Group are oneof the most expectable examples of both nonmarine and marine vertebrates of the Late Cretaceous in Japan. Our excavation will be continued in the coming years for more plentiful results.

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western Pacific

The Lower Cretaceous continental vertebrate fauna from the Shestakovo locality(West Siberia): Results of 20-year research
S.V. Ivantsov1, A.V. Fayngerts1, S.V. Leshchinskiy1, A.S. Rezviy2, P.P. Skutschas1 and
A.O. Averianov1
1Laboratory of Mesozoic and Cenozoic Continental Ecosystems, Tomsk State University, Lenin av. 36, Tomsk 634050, Russia;

e-mail: stepan_ivantsov@mail.ru
2Museum of Nature and Man, Mira str. 11, Khanty-Mansiysk 628011, Russia

The year of 2013 witnessed the 60th anniversary of the discovery of the Lower Cretaceous
continental vertebrates in the Shestakovo site.
Several localities are situated on the right bankof the Kiya River in the vicinity of the Shestakovo village (Chebula District of the Kemerovo
Oblast).
The discovery was not easy. A.R. Anan’yev,
assistant professor of Tomsk State University(TSU), mentioned: “In spite of careful search,neither plant, nor animal fossils are not found in
the Ilek Formation” (Anan’yev, 1948).
In 1953, a geologist A.A. Mossakovskiy andassistant professor of TSU I.V. Lebedev discovered the incomplete skeleton and the skull with
forelimb of the small ornitischian dinosaur referred to Psittacosaurus at the base of the Shestakovo section (Rozhdestvenskiy, 1960).
In the early 1960s, A.A. Bulynnikova and
L.Ya. Trushkova (1967) found the remains of alarger dinosaur, which was sent to A.K. Rozhdestvenskiy (Paleontological Institute) for identification.
The further findings of the Early Cretaceous
vertebrates from the Shestakovo site were madeonly in 1994, when E.N. Maschenko discovereda phalanx of sauropod dinosaur and the molariform of the theromorph tritylodont in the talusof the Shestakovo outcrops. The last one was thefirst tritylodontid from the Lower Cretaceous.
Previously, they assumed to be extinct in the Jurassic. In 1995, the members of the Departmentof Paleontology and Historical Geology of TSU,
prospecting in Tegul’det depression of West Siberia, found the bones of the large dinosaurs in
the outcrop of Shestakovo steep bank. Besides,
several new sites were discovered (Shestakovo 2, 3; Smolenskii Yar; Ust’-Kolba) (Saev andLeshchinskiy, 1997).
The Shestakovo complex of vertebrate localities is rather well studied. The data on its geo-

logical structure (Fayngerts and Leshchinskiy,2000) and taphonomic features (Voronkevich,
2000) are presented in several papers. Each locality is characterized by specific features of sedimentation, and therefore special burial conditions. Microvertebrate assemblage from theShestakovo 1, being the typical section for the
Ilek Formation, provides a complete overview of
the composition of vertebrate fauna. It wasformed in alluvial conditions, while the Shestakovo 3 characterized by complete skeletons,
their fragments in anatomical position and separate bones and teeth represents the crevasse
splay facies.
At present time, the following taxa are revealed in the complex of the Shestakovo 1: Palaeonisciformes indet., Sinamiidae indet., Kiyatriton leshchinskiyi, Caudata indet., Kirgizemys sp.,
Choristodera indet., Xenosauridae indet., Parmacellodus sp., Scincomorpha indet., Gekkota
indet. (Averianov and Voronkevich, 2002;
Skutschas, 2006, 2014; Skutschas and Vitenko,
2015), Tagarosuchus kulemzini, Kyasuchus saevi(Efimov and Leshchinskiy, 2000), Pterodactyloidea indet., Ornithocheiridae indet., Troodontidae indet., Dromaeosauridae indet., Therizinosauroidea
indet.,
Theropoda
indet.,
Titanosauriformes indet., Stegosauridae indet.,
Ornithopoda indet., Hypsilophodontidae indet.,
Psittacosaurus sibiricus (Averianov et al., 2002,
2003, 2004, 2006; Averianov and Sues, 2007),
Mystiornis cyrili (Kurochkin et al., 2011), Evgenavis nobilis (O’Connor et al., 2014), Xenocretosuchus sibiricus, Sibirotherium rossicus (Tatarinov
and Maschenko, 1999; Maschenko et al., 2002;
Lopatin et al., 2009), Gobiconodontidae (Lopatin
and Averianov, 2015), Acinacodus tagaricus,
Yermakia domitor, Kiyatherium cardiodens (Lopatin
et al., 2005, 2010).
The composition of this vertebrate assemblage is heterogeneous and includes vertebrates
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with Jurassic (e.g., paramacellodid lizard, “protosuchian” and shartegosuchid crocodyliforms,
tritylodonts, docodont mammals) and Cretaceous (e.g., “macrobaenid” turtles, dromaeosaurid and troodontid theropods, ceratopsianPsittacosaurus sibiricus) affinities (Leshchinskiy etal., 2001). Thus, the presence of refugium in thesouth-east of West Siberia is proposed.
There is still a potential for describing new
taxa of vertebrates from the Shestakovo section.

Since the first years of the research, the largebones of sauropod were washed out from theShestakovo 1 outcrop. The pedal ungulal phalanx of a therizinosaurid was found at the sameplace in 2010. There are still undescribed taxa oftheropods of large, medium and small size represented by fragmentary materials. Only preliminary results are published on turtles and lizards. Only small portion of Shestakovo 3
perspective area was excavated in the past years.

References
Anan’ev, A.R., 1948. Geology of Mesozoic deposits
near Ust’-Serta village on Kiya River. Uch. Zap.
Tomskogo Gos. Univ. 10 (in Russian).
Averianov, A.O., Sues, H.-D., 2007. A new troodontid(Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Cenomanianof Uzbekistan, with a review of troodontid records from the territories of the former Soviet Union. J. Vert. Paleontol. 27, 87–98.
Averianov, A.O., Voronkevich, A.V., 2002. A newcrown-group salamander from the Early Cretaceous of Western Siberia. Russ. J. Herpetol. 9,
209–214.
Averianov, A.O., Voronkevich, A.V, Maschenko, E.N.,
Leshchinskiy, S.V., Fayngertz, A.V., 2002. A sauropod foot from the Early Cretaceous of Western
Siberia, Russia. Acta Palaeontol. Polonica 47,
117–124.
Averianov, A.O., Leshchinskiy, S.V., Skutschas, P.P.,
Rezvyi, A.S., 2003. Pterosaur teeth from theLower Cretaceous of Russia and Uzbekistan.
Sovrem. Gerpetol. 2, 5–11 (in Russian).
Averianov, A.O., Leshchinskiy, S.V., Skutschas, P.P.,
Fayngertz, A.V., Rezvyi, A.S., 2004. Dinosaurs
from the Early Cretaceous Ilek Formation inWest Siberia, Russia, in: Second European Association of Vertebrate Paleontologists Meeting:
Abstracts of papers. Moravian Museum, Brno,
p. 6.
Averianov, A.O., Voronkevich, A.V, Leshchinskiy,
S.V., Fayngertz, A.V., 2006. A ceratopsian dinosaur Psittacosaurus sibiricus from the Early Cretaceous of West Siberia, Russia and its phylogenetic relationships. J. Syst. Palaeontol. 4, 359–395.
Bulynnikova, A.A., Trushkova, L.Ya., 1967. Continental Cretaceous deposits of eastern and central
parts of the Western Siberian lowland, in: Martinson, G.G. (Ed.), Stratigraphy and palaeontology of Mesozoic and Palaeogene–Neogene continental deposits of the Asiatic part of the USSR.
Nauka, Leningrad, pp. 40–46 (in Russian).
Efimov, M.B., Leshchinskiy, S.V., 2000. The first finding of a fossil crocodile skull in Siberia, in: Komarov, A.V. (Ed.), Materials of the Regional Con122

ference of the Geologists of Siberia, Far East, andNorth East of Russia, Vol. 2. GalaPress, Tomsk,
pp. 361–363 (in Russian).
Fayngerts, A.V., Leshchinskiy, S.V., 2000. Early Cretaceous Chulym-Enisey paleobasin: Conditions of
sedimentation and habitat of vertebrate fauna,
in: Sreda i zhizn’ v geologicheskom proshlom,
Tez. dokl. Novosibirsk, pp. 47–48 (in Russian).
Kurochkin, E.N., Zelenkov, N.V., Averianov, A.O.,
Leshchinskiy, S.V., 2011. A new taxon of birds(Aves) from the Early Cretaceous of Western Siberia, Russia. J. Syst. Palaeontol. 9, 109–117.
Leshchinskiy, S.V, Voronkevich, A.V., Fayngertz,
A.V., Maschenko, E.N., Lopatin, A.V., Averianov, A.O., 2001. Early Cretaceous vertebrate locality Shestakovo, Western Siberia, Russia: A refugium for Jurassic relicts? J. Vert. Paleontol. 21,
73A.
Lopatin, A.V., Averianov, A.O., 2015. Gobiconodon(Mammalia) from the Early Cretaceous of Mongolia and revision of Gobiconodontidae. J.
Mammal. Evol. 22(1), 17–43.
Lopatin, A.V., Maschenko, E.N., Averianov, A.O.,
Rezvyi, A.S., Skutschas, P.P., Leshchinskiy, S.V.,
2005. Early Cretaceous mammals from Western
Siberia: 1. Tinodontidae. Paleontol. J. 39, 523–534.
Lopatin, A.V., Averianov, A.O., Maschenko, E.N.,
Leshchinskiy, S.V., 2009. Early Cretaceous
mammals of Western Siberia: 2. Tegotheriidae.
Paleontol. J. 43, 453–462.
Lopatin, A.V., Averianov, A.O., Maschenko, E.N.,
Leshchinskiy, S.V., 2010. Early Cretaceous
mammals of Western Siberia: 3. Zhangheotheriidae. Paleontol. J. 44, 573–583.
Maschenko, E.N., Lopatin, A.V., Voronkevich A.V.,
2002. A new Early Cretaceous mammal from
Western Siberia. Dokl. Biol. Sci. 386, 475–477.
O'Connor, J.K., Averianov, A.O., Zelenkov, N.V.,
2014. A confuciusornithiform (Aves, Pygostylia)like tarsometatarsus from the Early Cretaceousof Siberia and a discussion of the evolution ofavian hind limb musculature. J. Vert. Paleontol.
34, 647–656.

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western PacificRozhdestvensky, A.K., 1960. Locality of Lower Cretaceous dinosaurs in Kuzbass. Paleontol. Zh. 2, 165(in Russian).
Saev, V.I., Leshchinskiy, S.V., 1997. New findings ofdinosaurs in Siberia, in: Podobina, V.M., Savina,
N.I., Kuznetsova, K.I., Muzylev, N.G. (Eds.), Biostratigraphy and microorganisms of the Phanerozoic of Eurasia. Geos, Moscow, p. 268 (in Russian).
Skutschas, P.P., 2006. Biostratigraphy of the Late
Mesozoic tetrapod assemblages of Siberia, in:Rozanov, A.Yu., Lopatin, A.V., Parkhaev, P.Yu.
(Eds.), Classical and new methods: Second AllRussian school – 2005. Moscow, pp. 87–96.
Skutschas, P.P., 2014. Kiyatriton leshchinskiyi Averianov et Voronkevich, 2001, a crown-group sala-mander from the Lower Cretaceous of Western
Siberia, Russia. Cretaceous Res. 51, 88–94.
Skutschas, P.P., Vitenko, D.D., 2015. On a record ofchoristoderes (Diapsida, Choristodera) from theLower Cretaceous of Western Siberia. Paleontol.
J. 49, 507–511.
Tatarinov, L.P., Maschenko, E.N., 1999. A find of anaberrant tritylodont (Reptilia, Cynodontia) in theLower Cretaceous of Kemerovo Region. Paleontol. Zh. 4, 85–92 (in Russian).
Voronkevich, A.V., 2000. Taphonomic features of burial of vertebrates’ remains in the deposits of Ilek
Svita, in: Komarov, A.V. (Ed.), Materials of theRegional Conference of the Geologists of Siberia,
Far East, and North East of Russia, Vol. 2.
GalaPress, Tomsk, pp. 359–360 (in Russian).

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The history of discovery and research of the Shestakovo locality of
Early Cretaceous vertebrates
A.E. Kostyunin
Kemerovo Regional Museum, Department of the Nature, Sovetsky av. 55, Kemerovo 650000, Russia;
e–mail: Rhabdophis_tigrina@mail.ru

Research history of the Shestakovo localityof Early Cretaceous vertebrates was started in
the first part of 50 th years of the last century. In
1953, a geologist A.A. Mossakovsky (Geological
Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the
USSR, Moscow) discovered fragments of a fore
limb of medium-sized herbivorous dinosaur.
The fossils were found near the Shestakovo village in the precipice of the Kiya River (center of
the Shestakovskii ravine location, also known
as the Shestakovo 1). In the same year, the docent of Tomsk Polytechnic Institute I.V. Lebedev found a cranium and a fore limb belonging
to other specimen of the same species of dinosaurs.
The fragments discovered by A.A. Mossakovsky and I.V. Lebedev were transferred to the
Paleontological Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. Afterwards, these fragments
were identified as remains of a dinosaur of thegenus Psittacosaurus (Rozhdestvensky, 1955).
After delivery of skeleton to Moscow, A.K.
Rozhdestvensky (expert on dinosaurs from the
Paleontological Institute) was sent to Shestakovo
to prospect the locality, but he could not makeexcavation, because bone-bearing layers were
inaccessible due to high water level. A.K. Rozhdestvensky was forced to perform the geologicalinvestigation of the Shestakovskii ravine as wellas the nearest precipices and outcrops along theKiya River and its feeder, the Serte River (Rozhdestvensky, 1960).
Since the finding of the first remains of Psittacosaurus until the early 90th, no special investigations have been carried out in the neighborhood of the Shestakovo village. At the sametime, there is a mention in the literature about
the finding of big bones in the Shestakovo 1(Bulynnikova and Trushkova, 1967). It may besuggested that these remains could belong to adinosaur from sauropods (Averianov et al.,2002). It is unknown what has happened withthis finding.
124

Systematic investigations of the Shestakovo
locality were started in the early 90th. In 1994,
E.N. Maschenko from the Paleontological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (PIN
RAS) discovered teeth of tritilodontid, sometimes ago identified as Xenocretosuchus sibiricus
Tatarinov et Matchenko (Tatarinov and Maschenko, 1999), and phalange of sauropod(Averianov et al., 2002). Next year he found afragment of jaw of Mesozoic mammal Gobiconodon borissiaki Trofimov (Maschenko and Lopatin,
1998).
Since 1995, the staff of Tomsk State University (TSU) has performed excavation and stratigraphical operations resulted in the discovery of
two new bone burial locations (Shestakovo 2
and Shestakovo 3) (Saev and Leshchinskiy,1997).
In 1995–1996, the group of Tomsk paleontologists found the fragments of foot and vertebrae of sauropod, jointed fragments of Psittacosaurus skeleton as well as other paleontologicalmaterials (Leshchinskiy et al., 1997; Voronkevich, 1998; Efimov and Leshchinskiy, 2000;
Averianov et al., 2002). A spread of remains in
the even-aged layer of Early Cretaceous blankets
on the limited area lets to associate three localities in the united complex (Leshchinskiy et al.,
1997; Alifanov et al., 1999).
In 1997, the research group from PIN RAS
in collaboration and under financial support of
the Museum of Natural History (North Arizona,USA) worked under the direction of V.R. Alifanov in the Shestakovo locality (Alifanov et al.,1999). In this expedition, Psittacosaurus skeletonand single bones of the same species of dinosaurs were found, but these materials have notyet been published.
Since 1997, the staff of PIN RAS has performed washing of bone-bearing layers of theShestakovo locality to find the micro balances ofterrestrial vertebrates. As a result of these investigations carried out for more than 10 years, theCretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western Pacificextensive paleontological material was obtained(Averianov et al., 2003; Lopatin et al., 2005, 2009,2010a,b). In addition, the staff of TSU periodically collected fossil remains of different groups ofterrestrial vertebrates at the Shestakovo 3(O'Connor et al., 2014). These works continued
until 2012.
In 1999, A.V. Voronkevich (TSU) found twocomplete Psittacosaurus skeletons in anatomic
synarthrosis at the Shestakovo 3. These skeletons became the base for the detachment anddescription of the separate species named Psittacosaurus sibiricus Voronkevich et Averianov(Leshchinskiy et al., 2000). Until that moment,
this species was considered as a form of Psittacosaurus mongoliensis Osborn (Voronkevich, 1998;
Alifanov et al., 1999).
Thus, during the research of Early Cretaceous vertebrates from the Shestakovo locality,
the rich fauna including more than 25 species
was discovered (Averianov et al., 2006). It wasestablished that it includes a large number ofrelic forms, which were typical for the Late Jurassic epoch. It allows us to suggest that a refugium existed in this territory in the Early Cretaceous (Leshchinskiy et al., 2001).
A new stage in the study of the Cretaceous
fauna of the Shestakovo localities began in
2014, when employees of the Kemerovo Regional Museum in cooperation with the staff of
PIN RAS resumed excavations in that area. As
a result of this work, a new bone-bearing lenswith a large burial of Psittacosaurus skeletonsand other paleontological materials were discovered (Lopatin et al., 2015). Currently, theexcavations at the Shestakovo 3 and the washing of the Ilek Formation rocks at the Shestakovo 1 are performed.
Keywords
Cretaceous, West Siberia, Shestakovo locality,
history of discovery.

References
Alifanov, V.R., Efimov, M.B., Novikov, I.V., Morales,M., 1999. A new psittacosaur complex of tetrapods from the Lower Cretaceous Shestakovo locality (Southern Siberia). Rep. Acad. Sci. USSR
369, 491–493 (in Russian).
Averianov, A.O., Voronkevich, A.V, Maschenko, E.N.,
Leshchinskiy, S.V., Fayngertz, A.V., 2002. A sauropod foot from the Early Cretaceous of Western
Siberia, Russia. Acta Palaeontol. Polonica 47,
117–124.
Averianov, A.O., Leshchinskiy, S.V., Skutschas, P.P.,
Rezvyi, A.S., 2003. Pterosaur teeth from theLower Cretaceous of Russia and Uzbekistan.
Sovrem. Gerpetol. 2, 5–11 (in Russian).
Averianov, A.O., Voronkevich, A.V, Leshchinskiy,
S.V., Fayngertz, A.V., 2006. A ceratopsian dinosaur Psittacosaurus sibiricus from the Early Cretaceous of West Siberia, Russia and its phylogenetic relationships. J. Syst. Palaeontol. 4, 359–395.
Bulynnikova, A.A., Trushkova, L.Ya., 1967. Continental Cretaceous deposits of eastern and central
parts of the Western Siberian lowland, in: Martinson, G.G. (Ed.), Stratigraphy and palaeontology of Mesozoic and Palaeogene–Neogene continental deposits of the Asiatic part of the USSR.
Nauka, Leningrad, pp. 40–46 (in Russian).
Efimov, M.B., Leshchinskiy, S.V., 2000. The first finding of a fossil crocodile skull in Siberia, in: Komarov, A.V. (Ed.), Materials of the Regional Conference of the Geologists of Siberia, Far East, andNorth East of Russia, Vol. 2. GalaPress, Tomsk,
pp. 361–363 (in Russian).
Leshchinskiy, S.V., Voronkevich, A.V., Fayngertz,
A.V., Schikhovtzeva, L.G., 1997. Some aspects of
taphonomy and stratigraphic position of the localities of the Shestakovo complex of Early Cretaceous vertebrates, in: Podobina, V.M. (Ed.),
Questions of geology and palaeontology of Siberia. Tomskii Gos. Univ., Tomsk, pp. 83–90 (inRussian).
Leshchinskiy, S.V., Fayngertz, A.V., Voronkevich,
A.V., Maschenko, E.N., Averianov, A.O., 2000.
Preliminary results of the investigation of theShestakovo localities of Early Cretaceous vertebrates, in: Komarov, A.V. (Ed.), Materials of theRegional Conference of the Geologists of Siberia,
Far East, and North East of Russia, Vol. 2.
GalaPress, Tomsk, pp. 363–366 (in Russian).
Leshchinskiy, S.V, Voronkevich, A.V., Fayngertz,
A.V., Maschenko, E.N., Lopatin, A.V., Averianov, A.O., 2001. Early Cretaceous vertebrate locality Shestakovo, Western Siberia, Russia: A refugium for Jurassic relicts? J. Vert. Paleontol. 21,
73A.
Lopatin, A.V., Maschenko, E.N., Averianov, A.O.,
Rezvyi, A.S., Skutschas, P.P., Leshchinskiy, S.V.,
2005. Early Cretaceous mammals from Western
Siberia: 1. Tinodontidae. Paleontol. J. 39, 523–534.
Lopatin, A.V., Averianov, A.O., Maschenko, E.N.,
Leshchinskiy, S.V., 2009. Early Cretaceous
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The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016
mammals of Western Siberia: 2. Tegotheriidae.
Paleontol. J. 43, 453–462.
Lopatin, A.V., Averianov, A.O., Maschenko, E.N.,
Leshchinskiy, S.V., 2010a. Early Cretaceous
mammals of Western Siberia: 3. Zhangheotheriidae. Paleontol. J. 44, 573–583.
Lopatin, A.V., Maschenko, E.N., Averianov, A.O.,
2010b. A new genus of triconodont mammals
from the Early Cretaceous of Western Siberia.
Dokl. Biol. Sci. 433, 282–285.
Lopatin, A.V., Maschenko, E.N., Tarasenko, К.К.,Podlesnov, А.V., Demidenko, N.V., Kuzmina,
Е.А., 2015. A unique burial site of Early Cretaceous vertebrates in Western Siberia (the Shestakovo 3 locality, Kemerovo Province, Russia).
Dokl. Biol. Sci. 462, 148–151.
Maschenko, E.N., Lopatin, A.V., 1998. First record ofan Early Cretaceous triconodont mammal in Siberia. Bull. Inst. R. Sci. Nat. Belg., Sci. Terre 68,
233–236.
O'Connor, J.K., Averianov, A.O., Zelenkov, N.V.,
2014. A confuciusornithiform (Aves, Pygostylia)like tarsometatarsus from the Early Cretaceousof Siberia and a discussion of the evolution of126

avian hind limb musculature. J. Vert. Paleontol.
34, 647–656.
Rozhdestvensky, A.K., 1955. New data on psittacosaurs – Cretaceous ornithopods. Questions Geol.
Asia 2, 783–788 (in Russian).
Rozhdestvensky, A.K., 1960. Locality of Lower Cretaceous dinosaurs in Kuzbass. Paleontol. J. 2, 165(in Russian).
Saev, V.I., Leshchinskiy, S.V., 1997. New findings ofdinosaurs in Siberia, in: Podobina, V.M., Savina,
N.I., Kuznetsova, K.I., Muzylev, N.G. (Eds.), Biostratigraphy and microorganisms of the Phanerozoic of Eurasia. Geos, Moscow, p. 268 (in Russian).
Tatarinov, L.P., Maschenko, E.N., 1999. A find of anaberrant tritylodont (Reptilia, Cynodontia) in theLower Cretaceous of Kemerovo Region. Paleontol. Zh. 4, 85–92 (in Russian).
Voronkevich, A.V., 1998. A large representative of thegenus Psittacosaurus from the locality Shestakovo-3, in: Vyltsan, I.A. (Ed.), Actual questions of
the geology and geography of Siberia: Materialsof the scientific conference. Vol. 1. Tomskii Gos.
Univ., Tomsk, pp. 190–193 (in Russian).

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western Pacific

Reinvestigation of an Early Cretaceous eutherian mammal Endotherium niinomii
N. Kusuhashi1, Y.-Q. Wang2 and C.-K. Li2
1Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Ehime University, Matsuyama, Ehime 790-8577, Japan; e-mail: nkusu@sci.ehime-u.ac.jp
2Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology andPaleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, P.R. China

Various mammalian fossils have been discovered from the Lower Cretaceous (Aptian–
Albian) Fuxin Formation in western Liaoning
Province, northeastern China. They include eutriconodontans (three described species of two
genera and a few other undescribed species),
multituberculates (four described species ofthree genera and a few other undescribed species), at least one undescribed species of spalacotheriids, and eutherians (Endotherium niinomii
and other undescribed species) (Shikama, 1947;
Kusuhashi et al., 2009a,b, 2010, 2015).
The number of eutherian specimens collected from the Fuxin Formation reaches 40% of thetotal collection. It implies that they were a dominant group of the mammalian fauna in East
Asia at that time. Another dominant group ismultituberculates, also constituting 40%. Thisfaunal composition is very different from that of
the Jehol Group, which is also distributed inwestern Liaoning but is slightly older than the
Fuxin Formation; multituberculates and eutherians were obviously minor elements in the
mammalian fauna from the group (Meng, 2014).
Eutherians from the Fuxin Formation, therefore,
might provide the information about early diversification of the group in East Asia.
Endotherium niinomii is a eutherian mammal
reported from the Fuxin Formation by Shikama(1947). Unfortunately, the important part of thetype specimen including molars was lost sometime after his observation, and the specimen was

not sufficiently described and illustrated in thepaper. Therefore, the species is rarely mentioned
in recent papers on Mesozoic eutherians, andsometimes treated as a nomen dubium (e.g.,
Kielan-Jaworowska and Cifelli, 2001). However,the coaly rock containing the remaining part of
the type specimen is still housed in the DalianMuseum of Natural History, and the impressions of the missing parts are preserved on it.
We reexamined the morphology of the typespecimen based on the impressions and the original description of Shikama (1947), preceding to
the study on our eutherian specimens from theFuxin Formation.
The dentaries of Endotherium niinomii are
relatively slender and highly probably had fivepremolars and three molars. The entoconid andhypoconulid of lower molars are not closely
twinned. These features imply that Shikama’s(1947) attribution of the species to the Eutheria
is reasonable. The species also has following
characteristics: sizes of lower molars diminish
distally; the height difference between thetrigonid and talonid of lower molars are moderate and smaller than those of other Early Cretaceous eutherians; lower molar cusps areblunt; the protoconid is the largest among thetrigonid cusps; the paraconid is as tall as themetaconid. This suite of characters is enough
diagnostic among Cretaceous eutherians, andwe thus consider that E. niinomii is a valid species.

References
Kielan-Jaworowska, Z., Cifelli, R.L., 2001. Primitive
boreosphenidan mammal (?Deltatheroida) fromthe Early Cretaceous of Oklahoma. Acta Palaeontol. Polonica 46, 377–391.
Kusuhashi, N., Hu, Y.-M., Wang, Y.-Q., Hirasawa, S.,
Matsuoka, H., 2009a. New triconodontids(Mammalia) from the Lower Cretaceous Shahai
and Fuxin formations, northeastern China. Geobios 42, 765–781.

Kusuhashi, N., Hu, Y.-M., Wang, Y.-Q., Setoguchi,T., Matsuoka, H., 2009b. Two eobaatarid (Multituberculata; Mammalia) genera from the Lower Cretaceous Shahai and Fuxin formations,
northeastern China. J. Vert. Paleontol. 29, 1264–
1288.
Kusuhashi, N., Hu, Y.-M., Wang, Y.-Q., Setoguchi, T.,
Matsuoka, H., 2010. New multituberculate
mammals from the Lower Cretaceous (Shahai
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and Fuxin formations), northeastern China. J.
Vert. Paleontol. 30, 1501–1514.
Kusuhashi, N., Wang, Y.-Q., Li, C.-K., Jin, X., 2015.
Two new species of Gobiconodon (Mammalia, Eutriconodonta, Gobiconodontidae) from the Lower Cretaceous Shahai and Fuxin formations,
northeastern China. Hist. Biol. 28, 14–26.

128

Meng, J., 2014. Mesozoic mammals of China: Implications for phylogeny and early evolution of
mammals. Nat. Sci. Rev. 1, 521–542.
Shikama, T., 1947. Teilhardosaurus and Endotherium,
new Jurassic Reptilia and Mammalia from the
Husin Coal-Field, south Manchuria. Proc. Japan
Acad. 23, 76–84.

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western PacificVitakri Dome of Pakistan – a richest graveyard of titanosaurian sauropod
dinosaurs and mesoeucrocodiles in Asia
M.S. Malkani
Geological Survey of Pakistan, Upper Chattar 130 D, str. 16, Muzaffarabad, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan; e-mail: malkanims@yahoo.com

Titanosauriform/early titanosaurian sauropod
dinosaurs from Pakistan
Brohisaurus kirthari is found in the lowest
part of the Upper Jurassic of the Sembar Formation from Kirthar Range, Khuzdar District,
Balochistan. It is based on some poorly recognized postcranial elements. It shows apparent
pneumaticity in thoracic ribs and a strongly anteroposteriorly compressed femoral midshaft.
Titanosaurian sauropod dinosaurs from
Pakistan
Khetranisaurus barkhani is characterized byslightly broad to sub squarish midcaudals. Its
centrum is unique among Pakiforms having
broad ventral centrum width than dorsal centrum width (Fig.1).
Sulaimanisaurus gingerichi is characterized
by long and squarish mid caudals, and it isbased on fragmentary caudal vertebrae andmany referred vertebrae and bones from Sangiali, Shalghara and Mari Bohri localities.
Pakisaurus balochistani is based on four associated tall caudal centra and also attributed
many fragmentary, associated and articulatedbones and pieces of bones belong to crania/skull,vertebrae, ribs, sternal, scapulae, humerai, radius, ulnae, ilia, femora, tibia, fibula, foot bones,
osteoderms, pieces of coprolite, etc.
Marisaurus jeffi is based on six heavy andslightly tall to squarish midcaudals. The ratio of
mid-dorsal width to mid-ventral width of mid
and posterior caudals is about 1.5. It is attributedby cranial and postcranial materials.
Balochisaurus malkani were relatively moststocky and large bodied with stocky limbs. It isbased on seven associated heavy and broad tosquarish (heart shape mid caudals) caudal vertebrae and also attributed many fragmentary,
associated and articulated bones and pieces ofbones like postcrania, osteoderms, pieces of coprolite, etc. The ratio of mid-dorsal width to midventral width of mid and posterior caudals is
about 2.

Gspsaurus pakistani is based on most complete relatively large skull. The anterior dentary
symphysis seems to be weak. The anterior portions of dentary rami are V-shaped. It has relatively long, narrow, slightly oval, slender andslightly recurved teeth.
Saraikimasoom vitakri rostrum is of generally
long, narrow and moderate shallow shape (with
40° inclinations from horizontal). The anterior
portions of upper and lower jaws are broadly
arched forming U-shape. Teeth are long, narrowand slender. A tooth slenderness index seems tobe 3–5. Its teeth are robust and straight relative
to Gspsaurus. It shows dental formula 4, 13/11–
17(?). The teeth row of left upper jaw seems to
be complete, and it gives the best information on
the Titanosauria at a global level. Generally, thetitanosaurs were considered as bearing a Diplodocus-type skull, but moderate incline and moderate long well developed skulls are now foundin Pakistan (Fig. 1).
Nicksaurus razashahi is based on axial andlimb elements and includes a pair of femora (leftfull femur, right partial femur), a pair of stocky
distal tibiae, partial humerus parts; proximal radius, five teeth in jaw ramus, chevron, cervical/dorsal centrum (Fig. 1). The very broad nature of holotypic caudals shows its relation to
the family Saltasauridae.
Maojandino alami is a titanosaurian sauropod with a thickest, broad and long neck,short tail, heavy and stocky body. The holotypic materials include about 6 cervical, 4 dorsal, and 10 caudal vertebrae along with partial
left femur, partial left and right tibiae, partial
radius, a pair of partial distal scapulae, partial
sternal plate/ilia, some neural arch and lamina
covered partially by yellow brown muds, etc.
(Fig. 1). Although they are fragmentary anddisarticulated, they are associated, because allof this material is found within one site of thesame locality. M. alami may belong to the family Balochisauridae of titanosaurian sauropods.
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New locomotion style of titanosaurs from
PakistanLess and more wide-gauge movements
originally appeared in Balochisauridae and130

Pakisauridae (titanosaurian sauropods) from
Pakistan. The distal scapula in Pakisaurus (andpossibly other taxa of Pakisauridae) is deflected
laterodorsally creating more wide gauge move-Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western Pacificments, while the distal scapula in Marisaurus(and probably, Balochisaurus) of Balochisauridae
is straight or inclined slightly medially with lesswide gauge movements. The features like proximal femur deflected medially, femoral eccentricity, laterally beveled and fibular condyle offemur, broad sacrum and ilia, laterodorsally deflected distal scapula and large sternal plates are
the basic elements resulted in wide-gauge
movement parten of Pakiforms.
Tail features of titanosaurs from Pakistan
A specific fossil tail with trispinous distalmost caudal centrum, found in Pakistan for the
first time, provides a new look on Titanosauria.
It has been found in the uppermost Cretaceous
Vitakri Formation (Sulaiman Basin, Pakistan).
Fossil tail of titanosaurs from Pakistan is unique.
It seems to be robust and relatively short, and it
may serve for different purposes being a good
defending tool from its foe, balancing body as athird support while searching food in tall tree,
and mating. So far, this discovery shows an endemic nature of Pakisauridae and Balochisauridae.
Osteoderms and dermal plates of dinosaurs from
Pakistan – the fossils reported from Asia for
the first time
Malkani (2003) reported four types of osteoderms of titanosaurs from Pakistan, for the firsttime from Asia. Osteoderm scutes of mosaic
type are assigned to Marisaurus, large dermal
armor of ellipsoid type is assigned to Balochisaurus, and large dermal armor of ellipsoid typewith median cut is assigned to Pakisaurus. Someother bulb and root type osteoderms are also
found in Pakistan.
Coprolites of dinosaurs from Pakistan
Diverse coprolites of dinosaurs are found in
India, but some small rounded to surrounded,spongy/vesicular pieces of coprolites with diameter of 5–7 cm are revealed in Pakistan (Fig. 1).
These coprolite pieces are spongy. No grassymaterial is visible by naked eye.
Eggs of dinosaurs from India and Pakistan
Well preserved and diverse eggs of dinosaurs were reported from India. The snakebones are found in one nest. Nevertheless, nowell recognized eggs are found in Pakistan.

Theropod dinosaurs from Pakistan
Vitakridrinda sulaimani is a large bodied
abelisaurian, based on a pair of left and rightproximal femora as well as basioccipital condyle
alongwith partial braincase. It has referred manyvertebrae and limb bones. Vitakrisaurus saraiki isa small-sized noasaurian based on isolated pes.
The large ratio between phalanges II–2 and II–1
and proximally narrow metatarsal II (in dorsalview) also suggest noasaurids affinities, whilephalanx II–2 is longer than Velocisaurus (compared to phalanx II–1). Many smaller bones andphalanges are found just below the claw, which
may be the bones of left pes of Vitakrisaurus or
may belong to the birds or other flying reptiles
like pterosaurs. The noasaurids are represented
by Composuchus, Jubbulpuria, Laevisuchus,
Masiakasaurus, Noasaurus, Ornithomimoides, Velocisaurus, and Vitakrisaurus.
Footprints and trackways of dinosaurs from
Pakistan – the fossils reported from Asia
for the first time
A herd of early titanosaurs (Malakhelisaurus
mianwali) has been revealed in Pakistan confronted by a running large theropod (Samanadrinda surghari), that represents a confrontation scenario. A couple of small theropods havebeen also found (Himalayadrinda potwari) (Fig. 1).
The footprints and trackways of the titanosaur
Pashtosaurus zhobi are found on the thick sandstone bed of the latest Cretaceous Vitakri Formation (Balochistan, Pakistan). This discovery issignificant, because the bones and footprints arefound in the same horizon and the same basin.
Pterosaur from the Latest Cretaceous Vitakri
Formation of Pakistan
Saraikisaurus minhui is based on dentaryramus with eight teeth. This ramus shows internal pneumatic texture/structure. The teeth areoval to suboval, some overlapped. The total
length of preserved dentary ramus is 5.8 cm. The
dentary is slender. A dentary without teeth andsome limb bones with thick hollow and thin peripheral bone and small size show their assignment to pterosaur or bird (Fig. 1).
Mesoeucrocodiles from Pakistan
Pabwehshi pakistanensis is based on rostrum
and articulated partial dentary. The Sulaimanisuchus kinwai is based on anterior dentary and131

The Fourth International Symposium of IGCP Project 608 – Novosibirsk 2016

splenial. The Induszalim bala is based on rostrum(Fig. 1), which shows anteriorly/anterodorsally
directed external nares, very high/very deep andnarrow rostrum, the laterally compressed teethof ziphodont type (oval to D-shape, heterodont
in size), and thick rostral elements. In Induszalim,
the snout depth is equal to width, while in
Pabwehshi the depth is ¾ of width. In Induszalim,
the maxillary ramus is relatively far away/down
to palatal contact, while in Pabwehshi the maxillary ramus is just close to the palatal contact. In
References
Malkani, M.S., 2003. Pakistani Titanosauria; are armoured dinosaurs? Geol. Bull. Univ. Peshawar
36, 85–91.

132

Induszalim, the large teeth dia is relatively morethan Pabwehshi tooth diameter, and there are pits
with anteroposterior lineation on the lateral sideof maxillary ramus. Pabwehshi has no lineation.
Induszalim shows marked boundary/contact between palatal shelves and maxillary wall, but
Pabwehshi shows no boundary/contact between
palatal shelves and maxillary wall. Induszalim issimilar to Pabwehshi in having saggital torus onpalatal shelves. The Khuzdarcroco zahri is basedon one partial rib and referred half egg.

Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western PacificLithostratigraphy and biota of the Late Cretaceous dinosaur bearing Lameta andintertrappean sediments along Salbardi fault in Betul and Amravati districts ofCentral India
H. Sonkusare, B. Samant and D.M. Mohabey
PG Department of Geology, RTM Nagpur University, Law College Square, Amravati Road, Nagpur 440001, India;
e-mail: hemantsonkusare19@gmail.com

The Deccan volcanic associated sediments
are designated as the infratrappean (Lameta
Formation) occurring just below the earliest volcanic flow in the basin and the intertrappean
deposited between the flows during the break inthe volcanic activity. The sediments forming theLameta Formation are deposited in different inland basins including the Salbardi basin in the
Amravati District of Maharashtra and the adjoining Betul District of Madhya Pradesh in Central India. The Lameta sediments (Maastrichtian)rests over the Archaean basement or GondwanaGroup of rocks, and are overlain by Deccan volcanic sequence with intertrappean sediments
deposited at different stratigraphic levels. The
Gondwana shows faulted contact with Lameta
and Deccan trap. A thick pile of Deccan volcanic
flows are present in the area, and they are classified as the Satpura Group to the north and the
Sahyadri Group to the south of Salbardi fault.
The associated intertrappean beds in the area
lithologically comprise chert, cherty and nodular
limestone, clay, shale, cherty and tuffaceous
shale.
The 14 m thick Lameta Formation in thelower part comprises 5–6 m thick conglomeratic
and pebbly green to grey sandstone associatedwith clay pockets in the basal part, and medium
to coarse grained sandstone, which is concretized in the upper parts covered with thin veneer of chert. The 6–7 m thick calcretes formed
after the sandstone are nodular to massive at
different levels, with thin chert partings. The
calcretes at the top are mostly capped by chert(silcretes). Dinosaur and turtle bones are present
in the green sandstone, whereas the nests andeggs are recorded in the upper part of the sequence in the calcretes. Parataxonomically, theeggs are of Megaloolithus affinity.
To the south-west of Salbardi village, thegood outcrops of intertrappean beds up to 2 mthick are exposed in the localities at Hiradehi
and Topidhana. The sediments comprise blackand gray chert, clay, shale, cherty shale andshaly marly limestone. Molluscs mainly represented by Physa, Paludina, Lymneae and Unio arepresent in the sediments with scarce wood
fragments. During the palynological study, different types of pennate diatoms characterised byrectangular elongate and square shape were recovered from the Topidhana sections, whereas
mycorrhizal fungi, cuticles of plants and othermicroflora were recovered from the Hiradehi
sections.

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Early Cretaceous fossil sites in Kalasin Province, Thailand
O.-U. Summart, K. Wongko and Ph. Chantasit
Department of Mineral Resource, Rama VI Road, Bangkok 10400, Thailand; e-mail: O_summart@hotmail.com

Since the 1980s, Thai–French Research Projects on the Mesozoic vertebrates of Thailand
have resulted in the discovery of many dinosaur
localities ranging in age from Late Triassic to
Early Cretaceous. After the discovery, the studyof the dinosaurs of Thailand has increased considerably.
Thai dinosaurs, recorded non-marine Mesozoic environments, are quite abundant on the
Khorat Plateau. The Khorat Group is a rockgroup that is represented by the deposits of the
Khorat Plateau in the northeastern part of Thailand, ranging in age from 100 to 230 million
years. This red bed has yielded 16 species of dinosaurs, including the allosaurid or metriacanthosaurid (Siamotyrannus) and the oldest known
sauropod (Isanosaurus) in the world. In Northeast Thailand, dinosaurs are abundant in the Sao
Khua Formation containing various theropods
and sauropods. The Kalasin Province is one of
the most important areas for dinosaur discovery
in Thailand. Dinosaur bones, other vertebrate
fossils and dinosaur trackways are found in
three Cretaceous formations: the Sao Khua Formation, the Phra Wihan Formation, and the
Khok Kruat Formation.

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More than 700 pieces of bones and five new
species are found in the Sao Khua Formation(Early Cretaceous) at Phu Khum Kao hill of Kalasin Province. One of the specimens is the mostcomplete dinosaur skeleton found to date in
Thailand. It was named as a “dinosaur’s graveyard”. The Phu Faek Park is other place in the
Kalasin Province that discovered theropod footprints of various sizes. No skeletal remains ofdinosaurs have yet been found in the Phra Wihan Formation (Early Cretaceous). The last Cretaceous fossil site is located beside of the Lam
Pao River. The large bone of sauropod, teeth of
spinosaurid and accompanying vertebrate fossil
fauna are found here.
The discovery of fossil sites in this area provides the important paleontological data for the
study of dinosaur successions in Thailand. Consequently, Department of Mineral Resources hasdeveloped large dinosaur museum and paleontology institute, which become the significant
tourist attraction and learning center of Thailand
and Southeast Asia.
Keywords
Thai dinosaurs, Khorat Group, Mesozoic vertebrates.

Научное издание

Меловые экосистемы и их реакции на изменения
палеосреды в Азии и Западной Пацифике

Материалы Четвертого Международного Симпозиума
Международной программы по геонаукам
МПГК проект 608
15–20 августа 2016 г.
Новосибирск, РоссияПо редакцией О.С. Дзюба, Е.Б. Пещевицкой, Б.Н. Шурыгина
Утверждено к печати Ученым советом
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