Geochemical characteristics of the Upper Permian (P-2) continental marginal arc volcanic rocks are described, which have been found recently around the areas of Xiaodingxi and Zangli on the eastern side of the Yunxian|Lincang granite, in terms of rock assemblage, petrochemistry, REE, trace elements, Pb isotopes, geotectonic environment and so on. The volcanic rock assemblage is dominated by basalt-andesite-dacite, with minor trachyte andecite-trachyte; the volcanic rock series is predominated by the calc-alkaline series, with minor tholleiite series and alkaline series rocks; the volcanic rocks are characterized by high Al-2O-3 and low TiO-2, with K-2O contents showing extremely strong polarity; the REE distribution patterns are characterized by LREE enrichment and right-inclined type; trace elements and large cation elements are highly enriched, Ti and Cr are depleted, and P and Nb are partially depleted; the Pb composition is of the Gondwana type; the petrochemical points mostly fall within the field of island-arc volcanic rocks, in consistency with the projection of data points of continental marginal volcanic rocks in the southern segment of the South Lancangjiang Belt and the North Lancangjiang Belt. This continental marginal arc volcanic rock belt, together with the ocean-ridge and ocean-island volcanic rocks and ophiolites in the Changning-Menglian Belt, constitute the ocean-ridge volcanic rock, ophiolite-arc rock-magmatic rock belts which are distributed in pairs, indicating that the Lancangjiang oceanic crust subducted eastwards. This result is of great importance in constraining the evolution of the paleo-Tethys in the Lancangjiang Belt.
Newly identified radiolarians from ribbon chert in the Mae Hong Son-Mae Sariang area, northwestern Thailand covered Early Carboniferous, Late Permian, and Middle-Late Triassic in age, which indicate that there was a pelagic basin during the Late Paleozoic and Triassic in this region together with the published radiolarian biostratigraphic data. This basin is joined with the Chiang Dao and Changning-Menglian oceanic basins, which represent the main oceanic basin of Paleotethyan Archipelago Ocean. The main oceanic basin was situated in the traditional “Shan-Thai Block”. Therefore, “the Shan-Thai Block” was not a single block during that stage, but composed of the Paleotethyan Ocean and two continental terranes that affiliated to Gondwana and Cathysian domains respectively. Keywords Late Paleozoic and Triassic - Radiolarian - northwest Thailand - Shan-Thai Block - Paleotethys
