First report of Devonian corals from the Bitlis-Pötürge Massif (SE Turkey): a rare occurrence of corals on the northern margin of Gondwana

The Bitlis-Pötürge Massif of SE Turkey is a metamorphic belt separating the Arabian Plate from the Taurides. It includes a non-metamorphic Palaeozoic sequence that contains locally fossiliferous strata. Here is reported for the first time an assemblage of Upper Devonian rugose and tabulate corals from the Meydan Formation, composed of the rugose Frechastraea schafferi (PENECKE), Peneckiella cf. teicherti HILL, Pseudopexiphyllum supradevonicum (PENECKE), and Macgeea desioi VON SCHOUPPÉ, and the tabulate Thamnopora reticulata (DE BLAINVILLE), Alveolites ex. gr. suborbicularis and Scoliopora sp. The rugose corals suggest a Late Frasnian age. The palaeobiogeographic affinities of corals are discussed. The species F. schafferi and the genus Pseudopexiphyllum –so far only reported from Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan– are probably limited to the northern margin of Gondwana and therefore diagnostic for this palaeogeographic area. Until now, the northern margin of Gondwana yielded very few Upper Devonian corals so this occurrence in SE Turkey is particularly important to estimate the relationship between these corals and the ones from the northern margin of the Palaeotethys Ocean

Proceedings of the XIth International Symposium on Fossil Cnidaria and Porifera, Liège, Belgium, August 19-29, 2011: Preface

peer reviewe

Facies characterization of organic-rich mudstones from the Chokier Formation (lower Namurian), south Belgium

In a case study of two wells from the Namur Synclinorium, the black shale-dominated Chokier Formation was analyzed for petrography, mineralogy and organic geochemistry. Thin section petrography revealed a different facies assemblage for each well and a total of six microfacies types. Whole rock mineralogical data largely confirms a facies-dependent mineral composition. All different microfacies types of locality 1 (MFT-1, laminated silty mudstone; MFT-2, laminated mud-clast-rich mudstone; MFT-3, calcareous bioclast-rich mudstone) and locality 2 (MFT-4, lenticular mudstone; MFT-5, burrow-mottled mudstone; MFT-6, burrowed silty laminated mudstone) show ample evidence of a distal shelf environment that is sourced by currents, which may be linked to seasonal (monsoonal) transport of sediment from land to sea. Erosive bedload transport is an important mechanism of sedimentation whereas accumulation by settling from the water column can be excluded for the majority of investigated strata. Frequently, endobenthic activity and other processes after deposition, e.g. winnowing and reworking, caused strong fabric modifications. Various, but simple ichnofabrics prove at least temporary dysoxic conditions as confirmed by relatively low TS/TOC ratios. With regard to sedimentary features, organic geochemistry data hints to organic matter preservation due to rapid burial rather than intense anoxity. Silicification is a widespread diagenetic feature independent from facies and locality. It is most likely linked to a high supply rate of terrestrially dissolved silica as indicated by SEM observations, paleogeographic constraints and sedimentary features