The Silurian palaeontology and stratigraphy of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau have been studied for more than100 years.With the launch of the Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research,it is necessary to update the summaries of the Silurian stratigraphy and fossil assemblages of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and their correlation with its surrounding areas.In this study,we have selected 33 sections from the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and its surroundings areas,summarised the available data in terms of stratigraphic regionalisation,lithostratigraphy,chronostratigraphy,and biostratigraphy,and divided the study area into four stratigraphic provinces:the Xizang-Western Yunnan-Western Sichuan Province,the KunlunQilian Province,the South China Province,and the Tarim Province.In general,the Silurian strata in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau is more complete than those in other areas of China.Palaeobiogeographical studies of the vertebrate faunas,sporomorph assemblages,and brachiopod faunas of the study area indicate a closer geographical relationship between the South China,Tarim,and Indochina palaeoplates,than previously considered.Compared with the surrounding areas where Silurian strata have been extensively studied,the study of Silurian strata in the main part of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau is still in the preliminary stage.In the future,it is necessary to conduct research on the age,distribution,and resource potential of basal Silurian black shales to provide new directions for shale gas exploration and development in China.The shallow marine strata of the middle to upper Silurian require further subdivision.Considering that the Silurian System in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau is more complete,it has the potential to supplement and improve the study of the carbon isotope stratigraphy of the Silurian in China.
Geodynamic mechanism responsible for the generation of Silurian granitoids and the tectonic evolution of the Qilian orogenic belt remains controversial. In this study, we report the results of zircon U–Pb age, and systematic whole-rock geochemical data for the Haoquangou and Liujiaxia granitoids within the North Qilian orogenic belt and the Qilian Block, respectively, to constrain their petrogenesis, and the Silurian tectonic evolution of the Qilian orogenic belt. Zircon U–Pb ages indicate that the Haoquangou and Liujiaxia intrusions were emplaced at423 ± 3 Ma and 432 ± 4 Ma, respectively. The Haoquangou granodiorites are calc-alkaline, while the Liujiaxia granites belong to the high-K calc-alkaline series.Both are peraluminous in composition and have relatively depleted Nd isotopic [ε_(Nd)(t) =(-3.9 – + 0.6)] characteristics compared with regional basement rocks, implying their derivation from a juvenile lower crust. They show adakitic geochemical characteristics and were generated by partial melting of thickened lower continental crust. Postcollisional extensional regime related to lithospheric delamination was the most likely geodynamic mechanism for the generation of the Haoquangou granodiorite, while the Liujiaxia granites were generated in a compressive setting during continental collision between the Qaidam and Qilian blocks.
New discovery of the early Silurian fossil fish Changxingaspis(Xiushuiaspidae,Galeaspida),Changxingaspis nianzhongi sp.nov.and C.gui,are described from the Tataertag Formation in Tarim Basin and the Kangshan Formation in Zhejiang Province,respectively.C.nianzhongi mainly differs from C.gui in the shape of the median dorsal opening that is transverse elliptic with a width/length ratio of about 3.0,the long lateral transverse canals extending to the lateral margin of the headshield,and the second lateral transverse canal with dichotomous branchings.Discovery of C.nianzhongi from the Tataertag Formation and C.gui from the Kangshan Formation provide direct evidence on the specific level for the correlation between these two formations,which further supports the Silurian fish-bearing red beds in northwest Zhejiang belonging to the Silurian Lower Red Beds(LRBs)rather than the Upper Red Beds(URBs).Additionally,as the first record of the Changxingaspis in Tarim Basin,it extends the paleogeographical distribution of this genus from the South China Block to the Tarim Block,providing new evidence to support faunal exchanges between these two blocks and the hypothesis of a united Tarim-South China Block during the early Silurian.
LI XutongZHANG YumengLIN XianghongZHU MinZHAO WenjinTANG LizhouSHAN XianrenGAI Zhikun
