Conodont biostratigraphy of the Ordovician-Silurian boundary in the Central Appalachian Valley and Ridge Province
- Univ. of North Carolina, Wilmington, NC (United States). Dept. of Earth Sciences
Conodont biostratigraphy of the Ordovician-Silurian boundary in the Central Appalachian Valley and Ridge Province is based primarily on lithologic criteria. Although the boundary is precisely defined lithologically, virtually nothing is known about the biostratigraphic relationships in this interval due to a historic lack of detailed studies in this region. The present study is based on nearly 50 samples from 7 sections in Tennessee and Virginia, aimed at establishing a conodont-based biostratigraphic framework useful for local and regional correlation of lithostratigraphic units and boundaries. The data at hand show uppermost Ordovician rocks in this region have conodont faunas which are characterized by species of Oulodus, Aphelognathus, Phragmodus, and Plectodina. These faunas represent associations which locally correspond to the Oulodus velicuspis to Aphelognathus divergens Zones. Lowermost Silurian rocks contain faunas dominated by species of Ozarkodina, Distomodus, Pranognathus, and Walliserodus that correspond to the faunas of the Distomodus kentuckyensis Zone. Conodont ages indicate that the uppermost Ordovician rocks in the Central Appalachians range in age from upper Edenian to upper Richmondian and lowermost Silurian rocks range in age from upper Rhuddanian to lower Telychian in age. No conodont faunas which characterize the uppermost Richmondian, Gamachian, or lowermost Rhuddanian have yet been identified. The results of this study are in agreement with those of out previous study of the Southern Appalachian Valley and Ridge Province.
- OSTI ID:
- 6118935
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9304188-; CODEN: GAAPBC
- Journal Information:
- Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs; (United States), Vol. 25:4; Conference: 42. annual Geological Society of America (GSA) Southeastern Section meeting, Tallahassee, FL (United States), 1-2 Apr 1993; ISSN 0016-7592
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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