Paleoecology of Inoceramus amakusensis Nagao et Matsumoto, 1940 (Bivalvia) in a Late Cretaceous shallow clastic sea: The Himenoura Group, Kyushu, Japan

The taphonomic features and paleoecology of this species were investigated focused on vertically embedded individuals of articulated Inoceramus amakusensis Nagao et Matsumoto. In the Hinoshima Formation, Himenoura Group of Kyushu, Japan, this Santonian (Late Cretaceous) inoceramid bivalve characteristically occurs in incised-valley fill siliciclastic marine deposits. Modes of I. amakusensis occurrence and preservation, from in situ (= occurrence in life position) to allochthonous shell fragments, are strongly affected by its paleoecology and depositional environments. Several I. amakusensis (up to 25 cm in shell height) were recovered from bioturbated sandstones associated with storm-influenced deposits. Their commissural planes are almost perpendicular to the bedding plane, with the anterior face oriented downward and the posteroventral portion extending upward. Furthermore, I. amakusensis is morphologically comparable to endobyssate mytilid bivalves today. These results suggest that this Cretaceous species was an orthothetic sand sticker at least during mid-ontogeny that preferentially inhabited a well-oxygenated, nearshore seafloor. I. amakusensis was distributed in various depositional environments and has been regarded as a recliner in offshore muddy substrate. However, the present discovery suggests that it was also well adapted, with an upright life position, to high-energy shallow clastic environments characterized by high sediment supply.     

Paleoecology of Inoceramus amakusensis Nagao et Matsumoto, 1940 (Bivalvia) in a Late Cretaceous shallow clastic sea: The Himenoura Group,Kyushu, Japan

The taphonomic features and paleoecology of this species were investigated focused on vertically embedded individuals of articulated Inoceramus amakusensis Nagao et Matsumoto. In the Hinoshima Formation, Himenoura Group of Kyushu, Japan, this Santonian (Late Cretaceous) inoceramid bivalve characteristically occurs in incised-valley fill siliciclastic marine deposits. Modes of I. amakusensis occurrence and preservation, from in situ (= occurrence in life position) to allochthonous shell fragments, are strongly affected by its paleoecology and depositional environments. Several I. amakusensis (up to 25 cm in shell height) were recovered from bioturbated sandstones associated with storm-influenced deposits. Their commissural planes are almost perpendicular to the bedding plane, with the anterior face oriented downward and the posteroventral portion extending upward. Furthermore, I. amakusensis is morphologically comparable to endobyssate mytilid bivalves today. These results suggest that this Cretaceous species was an orthothetic sand sticker at least during mid-ontogeny that preferentially inhabited a well-oxygenated, nearshore seafloor. I. amakusensis was distributed in various depositional environments and has been regarded as a recliner in offshore muddy substrate. However, the present discovery suggests that it was also well adapted, with an upright life position, to high-energy shallow clastic environments characterized by high sediment supply.     

Llandovery Crinoidea of the British Isles,including description of a new species from the Kilbride Formation (Telychian) of western Ireland

A new species of cladid(?) crinoid, Segmentocolumnus (col.) clarksoni, based on distinctive, disarticulated stem material, is described from the Upper Llandovery Kilbride Formation. Hitherto, this unit has yielded two taxa based on single, nearly complete crinoids. In contrast, S. (col.) clarksoni is known from numerous specimens, including common long pentagonal, pentameric, heteromorphic pluricolumnals with symplectial articulations, broad pentagonal lumina and narrow claustra. A related morphospecies is known from the Ashgill (Upper Ordovician) of Ireland. The fossil echinoderms of the Llandovery (Lower Silurian) are poorly known globally. Where present in this interval, echinoderms are more commonly preserved as disarticulated ossicles and rarely as complete specimens. Complete crinoids have now been identified from nine horizons in the Llandovery of the British Isles, making this one of the better known pelmatozoan faunas from this time interval. However, only two of these occurrences have yielded as many as five or more identifiable taxa. Seven of the nine occurrences are Upper Llandovery (Telychian). Genera are typical of the Silurian or (Upper Ordovician + Silurian); the only remnant Ashgill taxon that did not survive the Llandovery was the morphogenus Segmentocolumnus (col.) Donovan, an ‘extinction’ that probably owes more to taxonomic method than any evolutionary pattern. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Multiple origin and regional significance of bedding parallel veins in a fold and thrust belt: The example of a carbonate slice along the Appalachian structural front

The development and evolution of bedding parallel veins (BPV) are investigated in the Saint-Dominique carbonate slice (southern Québec Appalachian structural front), in order to emphasize the regional significance of BPV in a fold and thrust belt and their importance in establishing its structural and diagenetic evolution. Structural and microstructural analyses reveal that most BPV display a laminated structure locally crosscut by a massive one. Both structures show mutual crosscutting relationships with bedding parallel or bedding perpendicular stylolites and with bedding perpendicular veinlets, indicating that BPV cementation and deformation are continuous processes. Opening both sub-parallel and sub-perpendicular to the BPV walls are documented. Early BPV are planes of weakness that focus later reactivation, and evidence of successive and sometimes opposite senses of opening are locally preserved within a single BPV. The bedding parallel orientation of these veins proved particularly helpful in establishing the structural evolution of an area mostly characterized by front parallel structures with little crosscutting relationships otherwise. Petrographic and geochemical (δ¹⁸O _VPDB and δ¹³C) analyses of structural cements suggest a common, locally derived source for the fluids that percolated through BPV, non-bedding parallel veins and faults. The isotopic ratios also reveal a significant enrichment in ¹⁸O and ¹³C through time. This evolution is tentatively correlated with tectonic, syn-convergence exhumation of the Saint-Dominique slice during its imbrication along the Appalachian structural front, after its burial under Taconian thrust sheets.     

太行山长城系赵家庄组遗迹化石

本文首次报道太行山南段长城系赵家组中发现的大量后生动物遗迹化石,其主要为潜穴和爬行迹,顺层或近于垂直层面分布,类型丰富,保存良好,距今大约2000Ma,对研究后生动物的起源与进化有着重要的意义。     

Palaeozoic micro-pelmatozoan thecae from the bedload of the River Maas (province of Limburg,the Netherlands)

In the Netherlands, Late Palaeozoic pelmatozoans – that is, stalked echinoderms – are known from building stones and cobbles in rivers, but there are no in-situ carbonate rocks from which they might be collected. Unsurprisingly, most recognisable specimens are columnals and pluricolumnals. Two small thecae, collected in the mid-1970s from silexite cobbles in the bedload of the River Maas in the Venlo-Tegelen area (province of Limburg, south-east Netherlands) are exceptional finds. One specimen, the diplobathrid camerate crinoid Rhodocrinites sp., has an unsculptured theca and some minor differences of form, yet otherwise satisfies the diagnosis of this genus. The other, the pentremitid blastoid Doryblastus? sp. is rather poorly preserved, yet is the first blastoid to be recorded from the Netherlands. Either or both of these specimens may be juveniles, particularly the blastoid. They are unlikely to be coeval, coming from separate cobbles and being of slightly different preservation. Their provenance from silexite cobbles suggest they originated from Lower Carboniferous (Tournaisian-Visean = Mississippian) carbonates in the southern Ardennes (south-central Belgium).     

Diachronous development of master joints of different orientations in different lithological units within the same forearc-basin deposits,Kyushu, Japan

The geometrical and chronological characteristics of joints and subordinate fractures in the Miocene (12–6 Ma) Uchiumigawa Group, Kyushu, Japan, strongly depend on the host lithology. In massive sandstone units (11 stations), joints are normal to bedding and form two suborthogonal sets, a master joint set parallel to the bedding strike and a cross joint set perpendicular to the bedding strike. In interbedded sandstone–mudstone units (11 stations), joints are found only in sandstone layers and have the same characteristics as the joints in the thick sandstone units, except that the chronology is opposite: in nine stations, master joints are perpendicular to the bedding strike and cross joints are parallel to the bedding strike. The observed joint pattern is tentatively explained by a diachronous formation of master joints which appeared first in massive sandstone units and later in the interbedded units, as a result of the superposition in the study area of two different deformation episodes independently documented by regional fault-slip data. Transition between the two jointing events took place around 6 Ma.     

Interpretation of a set of faults across the hinge and a limb of a large-scale flexure in the Mount Isa district, Queensland, Australia, in terms of fractures related to the folding process

A revised interpretation of a number of faults across the hinge and western limb of a large-scale anticlinal flexure in the Mount Isa district has been made in terms of the faults following earlier-formed be joints. Such joints often develop in weakly or moderately folded competent sediments, as a result of either tensile stresses that were active at a late stage during folding or the influence of residual stresses generated during tectonic uplift. The joints are oriented such that on a stereographic projection their poles plot parallel to the a axis of a fabric cross and at 90° to the fold axis (b). bc joints are thus approximately normal to bedding and contain the fold axis, and hence they fan around the axial plane of the fold containing them. Across the hinge and western limb of a steeply N-plunging large-scale F₂ flexure in the Mount Isa district, a number of faults at high angles to bedding fan about the axial plane. Making use of the fold geometry and local bedding orientation it is possible to predict the orientation of ideal bc fractures at locations within the fold. These predictions fit well with the observed fault pattern. The movement on the faults, although apparently complex, appears consistent with continued shortening perpendicular to an axial-plane cleavage during the D₂ deformation or as part of a later D₂ deformation.     

Anisotropy of gas permeability associated with cleat pattern in a coal seam of the Kushiro coalfield in Japan

An underground investigation has been performed in a subbituminous coal seam exhibiting a particular cleat pattern in the Kushiro coalfield, Japan. The coal cleat pattern shows some analogy to isolated straight joints, and is believed to have been formed during the late Tertiary period by a compressive tectonic stress, roughly in the east–west direction. Three cylindrical coal specimens representing the three orthogonal axes of the coal seam with respect to the bedding plane and its associated cleat were cored from a large block of coal. Gas permeabilities of the three coal specimens were measured under the same hydrostatic pressure conditions. Results clearly revealed anisotropy in permeability of the coal seam under relatively low confining pressures of less than about 12 MPa. The specimen cored parallel to both the bedding plane and cleat strike showed the highest permeability, even though the cleats were partly filled with calcite and clay minerals. The permeability in this direction was 2.5 times higher than perpendicular to the bedding plane, and 3 times higher than in the direction parallel to the bedding plane but perpendicular to the cleat strike. This suggests that the cleats play a greater role than bedding planes in controlling fluid flow in the coal seam. The permeability in the three orientations, however, converged to the same value at confining pressures above about 16 MPa. This may suggest that both cleats and bedding planes in a coal seam can close due to earth pressure if the coal seam is located below a certain depth. It further indicates that the traditional view that gas permeability is always greater parallel to the coal bedding than perpendicular to it should be reconsidered.     

黄河三角洲（泄水）包卷层理的成因研究

黄河三角洲上发育了大量的（泄水）包卷层理,按形态和规模可以分为两类;一类是规模较小,呈规则褶曲状的包卷层理,其“背斜”尖锐紧闭“,”向斜“圆滑宽阔;另一类规模较大,高度在１０－２０ｃｍ左右,形态复杂,可以是直立圆柱状,直立板片状,也可以是直立卷曲板片状。     

Magnetic fabrics, rock magnetism, cathodoluminescence and petrography of apparently undeformed Bambui carbonates from São Francisco Basin (Minas Gerais State, SE Brazil): An integrated study

Magnetic measurements were performed on apparently undeformed limestones and carbonate shales from 44 sites in nearly horizontal stratigraphic layers mainly from the basal units of the Neoproterozoic Bambui Group in the southern part of the São Francisco Basin. Rock magnetism, cathodoluminescence, transmitted and reflected light microscopy analyses reveal that there is a mix of ferromagnetic minerals, mainly magnetite and pyrrhotite, in most sites. In some sites, however, the ferromagnetic minerals are magnetite and hematite. Fine-grained pyrrhotite and pyrite accompany rare fine-grained graphite and probably amorphous carbon in some of stylolites, while pyrrhotite is also present as larger interstitial masses in coarse-grained domains outside, but close to the stylolites. Magnetic fabrics were determined applying both anisotropy of low-field magnetic susceptibility (AMS) and anisotropy of anhysteretic remanence magnetization (AAR). The AAR tensor was less well defined than the AMS fabric due to the low ferromagnetic mineral content. The analysis at the individual-site scale defines three AMS fabric types. The first type (two sites) shows K_min perpendicular to the bedding plane, while K_max and K_int are scattered within bedding plane itself. This fabric is usually interpreted as primary (sedimentary-compactional), typical of totally undeformed sediments. The second type shows the three well-clustered AMS axes with K_min still perpendicular to the bedding plane. This fabric is the most important since it was found in the majority of the sites. The third type (two sites) is characterized by well-clustered K_max in the bedding plane, while K_min and K_int are distributed along a girdle. The second and third fabric types are interpreted as combinations of sedimentary-compactional and tectonic contributions at the earliest, and at a slightly later stage of deformation, respectively. AMS represents the contribution of all the rock-forming minerals, while AAR isolates the contribution of remanence-bearing minerals from the matrix minerals. However, rock magnetism shown that anhysteretic remanence only reaches grains with coercivity < 100 mT because the maximum AF in the majority of the available instruments is 100 mT. Therefore, hematite and pyrrhotite probably do not contribute to AAR, which is due to the shape-preferred orientation of magnetite grains. For some sites, the AMS and AAR fabric orientations are different, mainly with respect to the lineation orientations (K_max and A_max, respectively). In general, K_max is well developed and follows the trend of the main regional thrusts, fold axes and faults generated in the first deformational phase, while A_max follows both this trend and that of structural lineaments formed during the second deformational phase. These deformation phases arose from the compression, which occurred during the evolution of the Brasília fold belt during the last stages of the Brasiliano event. The magnetic fabrics of the apparently undeformed Bambui limestones are typical of very weakly deformed sediments, in which the depositional-compaction fabric has been partly overprinted by a tectonic one, with minimum susceptibility direction remaining perpendicular to bedding. This result is in agreement with the textures given by the petrographic observations.     

Mass transport in European Cretaceous chalk; fabric criteria for its recognition

Although it is a pelagic sediment, fine-grained calcareous ooze may be mobilized prior to general lithification and redeposited as allochthonous units. Numerous occurrences of allochthonous chalk have been reported in recent years, having been recognized by large-scale bedding features seen in outcrop. Smaller-scale internal features, such as contorted laminae, and larger features, such as smeared burrows and imbricated flint nodules, attest to a significant amount of soft-sediment deformation and synsedimentary slumping in European chalk sections of Late Cretaceous age. Truly autochthonous chalks contain complex, tiered ichnofabrics and in some cases exhibit a diagenetic nodular fabric that is undisturbed by transport. In some situations, such as stagnant water conditions, autochthonous chalks may exhibit primary lamination, although this is very uncommon in European chalk sequences. Different types of redepositional processes produce an array of varied allochthonous fabrics. Glide and slump units, for example, contain internal deformational features produced during sliding. Ooze flow causes plastic deformation of chalk units, internally as well as externally. Resuspension and fluid flow of chalk sediment produces a deposit having a totally new fabric, such as a conglomerate composed of detrital chalk clasts. In this paper, typical macroscopic, sedimentary fabric types are illustrated, and the means of identifying them are discussed in terms of bioturbation features, in situ diagenetic nodules versus detrital clasts, physical deformation structures and development of flints.     

Crinoid columns as hard substrates: Salthill Quarry (Mississippian,lower Carboniferous), Clitheroe,Lancashire, UK

Salthill Quarry, Clitheroe, Lancashire (Mississippian, Visean) is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), in part based on its diverse fauna of invertebrates, particularly echinoderms. A small collection of crinoid pluricolumnals are described herein, collected from muddy horizons in the Hodder Mudstone Formation to typify the diversity and frequency of their encrusting and boring fauna. These specimens are infested by a range of episkeletozoans, namely a single occurrence of Sutherlandia parasitica (Phillips), four occurrences of Cladochonus sp. and eight of Oichnus paraboloides Bromley. Two variants of the pit (boring or embedment or both) O. paraboloides are recognised: those in which a living crinoid showed a growth reaction to pit formation; and those that did not and which were presumably dead at the time of infestation. The epizoozoan tabulate coral Cladochonus sp. is also common, including specimens intergrown between and within the columnals. Sutherlandia parasitica is relatively uncommon; the only specimen likely infested a dead pluricolumnal on the sea floor. A comparative collection of pluricolumnals infested by Cladochonus beecheri Grabau from the Mississippian Borden Group of the Midwest, USA, showed superior preservation to the Clitheroe Cladochonus sp. Cladochonus beecheri in the Borden Group infested platycrinitid crinoid stems, an association not noted from Salthill Quarry. Similar suites of borings-episkeletozoans, from two other sites – the Visean of Feltrim, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and the Permian of Timor – suggest that these were persistent associations for much of the Late Palaeozoic.     

Effect of bedding planes on wave velocity and AE characteristics of the Longmaxi shale in China

The experimental work described in this paper was carried out in order to discover more about the effects of bedding planes on wave velocity and acoustic emission (AE) characteristics of shale. Two groups of specimens, which were collected from the Longmaxi shale outcrop in Chongqing, China and cored perpendicular and parallel to the bedding planes, were tested under uniaxial compression, and the wave velocity and AE were monitored. There were obvious differences in the acoustic characteristics of shale with different bedding plane orientations. The experimental results show that (1) the average increasing rates of P- and S-wave velocities were 39.86 and 54.41%, respectively, for the specimen with a load perpendicular to the bedding planes (Y-0). The P-wave velocity and axial strain of specimen show a marked logarithmic relationship. However, the average increasing rates of P- and S-wave velocities were 5.44 and 10.54%, respectively, for the specimen with a load parallel to the bedding planes (Y-90). The good linear relationship between P-wave velocity and axial strain before failure of specimen has been built. Generally, S-wave velocity was more sensitive to axial strain than P-wave velocity. (2) AE characteristics for Y-0 showed that a few signals → quiet period → stable increase → steep increase; for Y-90: quiet period → stable increase → sudden increase → sharp increase. The AE energy for two groups of specimens was concentrated on low and middle of amplitudes (45-80 dB), but the proportion of amplitudes (80–100 dB) and the total counts of AE for Y-0 was 1.95, 2.2 times as much as that for Y-90, respectively. The results preliminarily revealed the effect of bedding orientation on the wave velocity and AE properties of shale and may provide guidance for the improvement of acoustic logging and microseismic monitoring in the field.     

Exceptional fidelity of preservation in a reworked fossil,Chalk drift,South London,England

Reworking of fossils commonly leads to loss of morphological detail and inferior preservation; the main contributions of such specimens to geology are in sedimentology, regional geology and neoichnology. A reworked specimen of the Late Cretaceous (chalk) sponge boring Entobia cretacea Portlock is unusually well preserved. This specimen is from superficial deposits and is well enough preserved that delicate apertural and intercameral canals are apparent. Two factors are recognized as important in maintaining the fine features of this trace fossil: preservation in flint and, presumably, minimal fluvial transport. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Probable tsunami origin for a Shell and Sand Sheet from marine ponds on Anegada, British Virgin Islands

A distinctive Shell and Sand Sheet found beneath the marine ponds of Anegada, British Virgin Islands, was formed by a post-1650 AD overwash event, but its origin (tsunami or hurricane) was unclear. This study assesses the taphonomic characters of the shell and large clast material (>2?mm) to determine its provenance and origin. Pond-wide stratigraphic units (Shelly Mud, Shell and Sand Sheet, Mud Cap) were analyzed (12 samples) at four sites in Bumber Well and Red Pond along with eight samples from the Shell and Sand Sheet in a 2-km transect of Bumber Well. Mollusks in the pond muds include Anomalocardia spp. and cerithids with no allochthonous shells from the offshore reef-flat. Results show that the shells and clasts (>2?mm) are derived from the erosion and winnowing of the underlying Shelly Mud of the former marine pond, forming a distinctive sheet-like deposit with Homotrema sand. The Shell and Sand Sheet contains articulated Anomalocardia bivalves and moderate numbers of angular fragments (approximately 35%) that are likely from crab predation. Radiocarbon dates of articulated Anomalocardia specimens from the Shell and Sand Sheet range widely (approximately 4000?years), with shell condition (pristine to variably preserved) showing no correlation with age. The articulated condition of the bivalves with the wide-ranging dates suggests erosion and winnowing of the underlying Shelly Mud but minimal transport of the bivalves. The Shell and Sand Sheet has taphonomic characteristics indicative of a widespread tsunami overwash (sheet-like extent and articulated specimens) but lacks allochthonous reef-flat shells. Reef-flat shell material may not have penetrated the pond, as a tsunami would have to cross the reef-flat and overtop high dunes (2.2?m) hindering transport of larger shell material but allowing the Homotrema sand to penetrate. Processes including hurricane overwash, pond wave action, or tidal channel opening and closure are not favoured interpretations as they would not produce extensive sheet-like deposits. Taphonomic analysis is hampered by the limited (400?C500?years BP) depositional history from Anegada??s ponds and the lack of comparative data from other Caribbean locations.     

Structured diffuse scattering, displacive flexibility and polymorphism in Ba-hexacelsian

 The results of a temperature-dependent electron diffraction study of the low frequency modes of distortion of Ba-hexacelsian and their relationship to the α-β polymorphic phase transition therein are presented. Cs- and Rb-doped Ba-hexacelsian specimens are also investigated. An extremely strong and characteristic diffuse intensity distribution in the form of polarized sheets of diffuse intensity perpendicular to the <1 1 0> directions is found for the high temperature polymorph and the doped specimens. The diffuse distribution appears to result from coupled tetrahedral rotation of <1 1 0> columns of corner-connected (Al,Si)O₄ tetrahedra about the [0 0 1] axis (uncorrelated from column to column as a result of the positioning of the rotation axes). Received: 25 January 1999 / Revised, accepted: 13 July 1999     

Ichnofossils from the Miocene Middle Bhuban Formation, Mizoram,Northeast India and their Paleoenvironmental Significance

An ichnofossil assemblage is preserved in sediments of the Middle Bhuban Formation,Surma Group,of Miocene age from the Durtlang and Chanmari sections,Aizawl district,Mizoram,northeastern India.The studied sections comprise a thick,bioturbated and thinly bedded sandstone–silty shale facies.The preserved ichnofossils show high density and low diversity with the assemblage represented by feeding and resting traces,i.e.,Psilonichnus upsilon Frey et al.,1984,Ophiomorpha isp.,Teichichnus spiralis Mikulá.1990,Skolithos isp.,Palaeophycus isp.,and other horizontal burrows.Sedimentary structures associated with these traces are mainly cross bedding,flaser bedding and slump structures.Considering the distribution of the Psilonichnus ichnogenus across an integrated ichnological–sedimentological framework,the stratigraphic interval of the Middle Bhuban Formation,in which they occur,are interpreted to have been deposited under a shallow,marginal-marine channel complex dominated by tidal channels developed in quiet,brackish-water portions of a delta plain.     

Ore-Clastic Olistostromes, Ore Clasts, and Allochthonous Antimony–Mercury Deposits in the Alay Range, Southern Tien Shan

Based on the detailed study of outcrops, two generations of ore clasts were recognized in clastic haloes around allochthonous antimony–mercury deposits: (1) early generation composed of in situ fragments of older autochthonous deposits (ore clasts) and (2) late generation of fragments related to the destruction of ore-bearing allochthons and found as exotic inclusions in flysch and olistostromes. Ore clasts reside in the terrigenous (pre-flysch) sequence that makes up the upper part of terrigenous–carbonate nappes and olistoplaques in the lower flysch–olistostrome sequence. Thus, they belong to allochthonous units. The terrigenous sequence differs from the younger flysch sediments by a relatively small thickness, predominantly clayey composition, and absence of rhythmic bedding and large erratic blocks. It is also characterized by the synsedimentary volcanic activity with the eruption of intermediate and acid igneous rocks, silicification, and ore mineralization in the lower part of the sequence, the maximal mineralization being confined to the boundary with underlying limestones. Relative to the terrigenous sequence the flysch–olistostrome sequence, which hosts ore-bearing allochthons, is distinguished by the primary attitude, greater abundance of ore clasts, and higher extent of ore disintegration. Some genetic features of autochthonous and allochtonous jasperoid deposits are considered. Their differences in age, host environment, formation depth, vertical extent of ore deposition, and zoning are also outlined.