Foraminiferal stratigraphy of Quaternary deposits in the Roar, Skjold and Dan fields, central North Sea

Foraminifera from four boreholes through Quaternary deposits at Roar, Skjold and Dan in the central North Sea have been examined. Shallow marine Eemian deposits were represented over the whole area, and at Roar marine deposits from an older glacial period were found below the Eemian. A glaciolacustrinc sequence occurred above the Eemian in all the boreholes, and at Roar this unit was succeeded by marine sediments containing arctic to boreo-arctic foraminiferal faunas. Both the non-marine and overlying marine units are referred to the Weichselian. Marine Flandrian deposits occur in the upper part of the borings and the faunal succession through this sequence is described.     

The Lundergård Clay and its Foraminifera, a new formation in the marine Quaternary of Denmark

Knudsen, Karen Luise: The Lundergard Clay and its Foraminifera, a new formation in the marine Quaternary of Denmark. Boreas, Vol. 1, pp. 289–297. Oslo, 1st December, 1972.
Samples from marine Quaternary clay deposits at Lundergård in Vendsyssel have been analysed for their content of Foraminifera. The clay, which is called the Lundergård Clay, contains a typical arctic foraminifer fauna with Quinqueloculina stalkeri and Elphidium ustulatum as characteristic species. To attempt an age determination of the Lundergård Clay, the fauna is compared with foraminifer assemblages from other marine Quaternary deposits of Vendsyssel and adjacent areas. The deposit may represent a hitherto unknown facies of the Older Yoldia Clay of Vendsyssel, which is supposed to be of Weichselian interstadial age, or it may be older and can perhaps be correlated with the Holderness Basement Till of Saale interstadial age.     

Aeolian origin and palaeoclimatic implications of the ‘red clay’ (north China) as evidenced by grain‐size distribution

The ‘Red Clay’ is an important deposit underlying the Quaternary loess–palaeosol sequence in the Chinese Loess Plateau, being regarded as an excellent record of palaeoclimate changes in the late Tertiary. Several properties of the ‘Red Clay’ have been measured previously in order to derive climatic information. However, the sedimentary processes involved and the origin of the materials remain controversial. Here we present results of grain‐size analyses of the ‘Red Clay’ from four representative sites in the Chinese Loess Plateau. In particular their grain‐size distribution is compared with that of typical Quaternary aeolian loess–palaeosol, as well as lacustrine and fluvial sediments. It appears from the sedimentological evidence that the major part of the ‘Red Clay’ is of aeolian origin. It is rather similar in some of its properties to the Quaternary loessic palaeosols. The dust forming the ‘Red Clay’ was transported by a wind system that was weaker than that involved in the accretion of the Quaternary loess. Furthermore, the ‘Red Clay’ sediment has been modified by post‐depositional weathering. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Late Saalian, Eemian and Weichselian marine sequence at Nørre Lyngby, Vendsyssel, Denmark

A 120 m thick marine Quaternary sequence resting on Upper Cretaceous chalk at Nørre Lyngby has been stratigraphically analysed on the basis of its foraminiferal content. The foraminiferal zones in the Nørre Lyngby boring are compared with corresponding zones from borings and outcrops in adjacent areas in Vendsyssel and Kattegat, and a general zonation covering the whole area is proposed. The lower part of the marine sequence at Nørre Lyngby represents deposits of pre-Eemian, possibly Saalian, and Eemian age. The Early Weichselian seems to be missing, while most of the Middle and Late Weichselian foraminiferal zones known from Vendsyssel occur. The foraminiferal zones and the corresponding macrofossil zones are correlated with the oxygen isotope stratigraphy. A cross-section through deposits from the Saalian-Eemian-Weichselian marine basin in North Jutland and the Kattegat illustrates the development of the basin through this period of time. The centre of basin subsidence shifted from the southwest in the pre-Eemian to the northeast in the Eemian, and remained there throughout the Weichselian.     

黄土高原西部秦安新近纪风尘堆积的蜗牛化石证据

对黄土高原西部秦安地区晚新近纪甘肃群中的一套黄土-古土壤序列以20cm间距采集的310个蜗牛化石样品进行了系统的研究。结果表明,黄土层与古土壤层中的蜗牛化石全部为陆生种类,以Gastrocopta,Pupilla,Vallonia,Metodontia,Cathaica和Punctum等占优势,与黄土高原第四纪黄土-古土壤序列中蜗牛化石的种属组成基本一致,这表明研究剖面是一套陆生成因的地层,与黄土高原第四纪黄土-古土壤序列有着相似的沉积环境。上述结果为提取古环境信息从生物学角度提供了证据。     

Relations entre les données isotopiques océaniques et l'histoire des grandes faunes européennes plio-pleistocenes

This study is the first test of correlation between the results obtained on the large Plio-Pleistocene European faunas and the main climatic stages (cold as well as temperate) demonstrated in marine isotopic records. In particular, there are cold stages which often explain the disappearance of some species, as well as climatic events that promote the substitution of some species by other groups. A rather evident parallelism appears between the European succession of large faunal associations and paleoclimatic stages revealed in oceanic areas, but some discordance occurs in the later periods. Faced with the great diversification of the Quaternary faunas, probably due to the multiplicity of climatic environments, and with global information from oceanic records, only local biostratigraphic studies will allow precise reconstruction of the different biotopes.     

我国东北东部侏罗纪的龙爪沟群和鸡西群与其意义

我国东北区的龙瓜沟群和鸡西群中部,由含有侏罗纪化石的海相与非海相岩层组成.龙爪沟群属中,上侏罗统,鸡西群可能全属上侏罗统,其中部的城子河组产有启末利阶的带化石细线雏蛤Buchia tenuistviata（Lahusen）.非海相的热河动物化石群中的软体动物分子与上侏罗统启末利阶海相双壳类化石在城子河组中同组共存,进一步核实了热河动物化石群的侏罗纪年代.     

A sedimentary record from a deep Quaternary valley in the southern Lillebælt area, Denmark: Eemian and Early Weichselian lithology and chronology at Mommark

A unique sequence of Late Saalian, Eemian and Early Weichselian strata is exposed in a coastal outcrop at Mommark in the western Baltic. The sedimentary facies and faunas reflect palaeoenvironmental changes from an initial freshwater lake followed by marine transgression and interglacial deposition in a palaeo-Baltic sea. The upper part of the Eemian marine record indicates regression followed by lacustrine sedimentation and deposition of Early Weichselian aeolian sediments, which are truncated by an erosional unconformity overlain by a till bed. The lower and middle parts of the sequence have previously been correlated with the European glacial-interglacial stratigraphy on the basis of pollen analysis, while the upper part has been dated for the present study using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) of samples from the aeolian and glacial deposits. A similar complete glacial-interglacial-glacial succession has not previously been recorded from this area. The Mommark sequence of conformable strata has been subjected to lateral compression, evidenced by folding and low-angle reverse faults. Seismic records from the adjacent waters in the western Baltic reveal a system of buried Quaternary valleys in the area. It is suggested that the interglacial deposition took place in a basin within one of these valleys and that a slab constituting the Mommark sequence, originating from the margin of a valley, has been glaciotectonically displaced northwestwards to the present location.     

Radiolarian Age of Chert-hosted Bedded Manganese Deposits from the Gen-otani Mine in the Tamba District, Northern Kyoto City, Japan

Abstract. Numerous bedded manganese deposits sporadically distributed throughout the Tamba district, southwestern Japan are intercalated within chert sequence. It is well known that radiolarian remains are commonly included in both bedded manganese deposits and host cherts. The Gen‐otani mine, one of these deposits, is located at Otani, Keihoku‐Shimonaka, northern Kyoto City. Chemical composition and age of the chert sequence at the mine were examined. Mainly according to SiO₂ and MnO contents together with lithology, the chert sequence is divided into three sections; lower massive chert, middle bedded manganese deposit and upper bedded chert sections. Radiolarian faunas consisting of middle Jurassic species such as Eucyrtidiellum unumaense, Dictyomitrella(?) kamoensis, Parvicingula dhimenaensis, Sethocapsa aitai, Sethocapsa kodrai, Transhsuum brevicostatum, Tricolocapsa plicarum, Unuma echinatus and others were extracted from both the middle manganese section and overlying bedded chert of the upper section. This examination reveals that the bedded manganese deposit at the Gen‐otani mine formed until Bajocian to early Bathonian (middle Middle Jurassic) in age.     

The Pleistocene/Holocene boundary in marine deposits from the Oslofjord area

Feyling-Hanssen, R. W.: The Pleistocene/Holocene boundary in marine deposits from the Oslofjord area. Boreas, Vol. 1, pp. 241–246. Oslo 1st September, 1972.
In marine deposits from the southern Oslofjord area in Norway the boundary between Holocene and Pleistocene is found within a formation characterized by Arctic species, the so-called Yoldia Clay or zone A in the foraminiferal stratigraphy. The fossil assemblage on the Holocene side of the boundary is even poorer than that on the Pleistocene side, which is explained by the rapid Preboreal ice recession. The boundary is not conspicuously reflected in the faunas but still discernible and applicable.     

Postglacial succession and palaeoecology of Late Quaternary macrofaunal assemblages from the central Canadian Arctic Archipelago

Temporal and spatial variations of the species composition of Late Quaternary macrofossil assemblages in the vicinity of Prince of Wales Island, central Canadian Arctic are examined in this study. A total of 2247 specimens representing 15 taxa (9 bivalves, 6 gastropods) were recovered at 32 sites. The dominant species are the bivalves Hiatella arctica, Mya truncata and Astarte borealis that together represent 91% of the total macrofossils represented in the collections. Taphonomic analysis (i.e. ratio of opposite valves; size range; shell abrasion and overgrowth; resistance to breakage) and comparison of the species composition of Holocene macrofaunal assemblages with modern counterparts and their habitats indicate that the subfossil faunas most commonly represent para-autochthonous assemblages which inhabited glaciomarine or nearshore marine environments. As observed previously by other authors, changes in faunal composition through time from survivor or pioneer groups (Hiatella arctica, Mya truncata, Portlandia arctica, Macoma calcarea) to more diverse faunas (e.g. Astarte borealis, Clinocardium ciliatum, Serripes groenlandicus) are noted. The succession of faunas in the study area is interpreted as the result of oceanographic changes after deglaciation due to increased summer insolation and warming of surface waters in the early Holocene.     

An Upper Cretaceous (middle Campanian) marine chondrichthyan and osteichthyan fauna from the Rattlesnake Mountain sandstone member of the Aguja Formation in West Texas

A thin phosphate-granule conglomerate within the Upper Cretaceous (middle Campanian) Rattlesnake Mountain sandstone member of the Aguja Formation preserves a diverse chondrichthyan and osteichthyan fauna. This highly fossiliferous deposit (the ‘Ten Bits Microsite’) yielded about 5000 teeth, spines, and denticles in a small amount of matrix (c. 150 kg). About 30 identifiable species of sharks, rays, and bony fishes are recognized. Two of the three most abundant chondrichthyan species at Ten Bits (Scapanorhynchus texanus and Ischyrhiza mira) are also the most common species in other middle to late Campanian marine vertebrate faunas along the Gulf and Atlantic Coastal Plain. The myliobatiform rays Brachyrhizodus and Rhombodus that occur at Ten Bits also appear to be characteristic of the Gulf and Atlantic Coast, as are lamniform sharks such as Cretalamna and Serratolamna. These taxa are entirely absent or extremely rare in Western Interior Campanian faunas. In contrast, some small orectolobiform sharks (Cantioscyllium, Chiloscyllium, Columbusia) and small rays (Protoplatyrhina) found at Ten Bits are common in shallow water faunas of the Western Interior and Texas Coastal Plain, but rarely reported from the eastern Gulf or Atlantic Coast. The common Western Interior ray Myledaphus bipartitus does not occur at Ten Bits or in any Gulf or Atlantic Coast fauna. Ptychotrygon agujaensis is abundantly represented in the Ten Bits fauna, but unknown in correlative marine faunas. Although Ptychotrygon occurs in all Western Interior, Gulf and Atlantic Coastal Plain faunas, it is represented elsewhere by apparently endemic species at each collection site. The differences between Western Interior, Gulf, and Atlantic Coastal Plain faunas probably reflect latitudinal variation in water temperature or salinity, or different oceanic water circulation patterns between the Western Interior Seaway and the Gulf or Atlantic Coast that restricted the distributions of some marine fish species. The Ten Bits fauna shares typical species with both Western Interior and Gulf and Atlantic Coast faunas, reflecting its position at the border between these provinces; however, the dominant taxa found at Ten Bits are the same as those found on the Gulf and Atlantic Coast, and indicate that western Texas was more closely allied biogeographically with that province than with the Western Interior of North America. One species tentatively identified in the Ten Bits fauna on the basis of a single tooth, Igdabatis cf. I. indicus, is otherwise known only from southern Europe and Asia, although a similar large myliobatid ray also occurs rarely in Texas Coastal Plain faunas. These occurrences indicate that western Texas may have been near the northern limit of the range for some tropical Tethyan marine vertebrate species.     

Palaeoenvironments of the Hoxnian Nar Valley Clay,Norfolk, England: Evidence from an integrated study of diatoms and ostracods

Diatoms and ostracods from the Nar Valley, west Norfolk, England are analysed with a view to establishing marine and freshwater palaeoenvironments of the Hoxnian interglacial Stage. No microfossils were recovered from the non-marine facies, but rich assemblages of both fossil groups were extracted from the marine Nar Valley Clay and these, together with associated sedimentological evidence, indicate that the environment of deposition changed from a relatively nearshore, muddy shelf setting, to one that was more littoral and subject to higher current regimes, with salinities remaining at normal marine levels through both depositional phases. It is suggested that this sequence may reflect a regressional phase towards the close of the Hoxnian Stage, with palaeotemperature evidence from at least one ostracod species suggesting a warmer climate than at present. Non-recovery of microfossils from some of the samples analysed is attributed to unfavourable palaeoenvironmental conditions and/or post-depositional ground-water percolation.     

Succession,palaeoecology, evolution,and speciation of Pennsylvanian non‐marine bivalves,Northern Appalachian Basin,USA

Seventeen horizons of non‐marine bivalves are described within the Appalachian succession from the base of the Pottsville Group of Westphalian A‐B age to the Uniontown coal of Stephanian C age at the top of the Carboniferous System. A new highly variable fauna of Anthraconaia from the roof shales of the Upper Freeport coal near Kempton, west Maryland, dates from late Westphalian D or very early Cantabrian time, on the evidence of non‐marine shells and megafloras. Below this horizon, the Appalachian sequence reveals zones of Anthraconauta phillipsii and Anthraconauta tenuis in the same order as in Britain, whereas faunas of Anthraconaia of these zones are less common and differ from those of Britain. In all horizons above the Upper Freeport coal all non‐marine bivalve faunas consist of stages in the sequences of two natural species, the groups of Anthraconaia prolifera and Anthraconaia puella‐saravana. The first shows evidence of having lived in well‐oxygenated, probably shallow, fresh water conditions of relatively wide extent. The second group lived preferentially in a plant‐rich environment of relatively stagnant fresh water. Both groups are found in horizons associated with coal seams and may be seen together in the same habitats, but diagrams of variation (pictographs) suggest that there was no interbreeding between the two groups in either the Northern Appalachians or in southern Germany where the species split was first recognized. In the northern Spanish coalfields of Guardo‐Valderrueda and Central Asturia, facies evidence suggests how an initial split may have taken place in the same morphological directions and into the same palaeoenvironments as the later split into two species. Appalachian deposition was generally slow and intermittent with frequent palaeosols. There is also evidence of erosion and of small palaeontological breaks in the sequence, especially near the eastern edge of the Northern Appalachian Basin in western Maryland. The amount of accumulated sediment was less than one‐tenth of that of western Europe when basin centre deposition is compared. We found no evidence of a major palaeontological break representing Westphalian D strata overlain by Stephanian C strata. We figure non‐marine bivalve faunas of Stephanian B age in association with the Pittsburgh and the Little Pittsburgh coals. Two new species of non‐marine bivalves are described: Anthraconaia anthraconautiformis sp. nov. and Anthraconaia extrema sp. nov. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The caradocian rocks of the north and west berwyn hills,north wales

The Caradoc of the Berwyn Hills is a thick sequence of marine mudstones and siltstones with interstratified sub-aerial tuff formations. Near the top of the succession there is a sharp facies change to graptolitic shales. The sequence has been re-mapped and two new formations (the Pen-plaenau Siltstone Formation and Cwm Rhiwarth Siltstone Formation) and one new member are proposed. Assemblage zones can be traced round the outcrop in the lower part of the sequence (Soudleyan) but higher in the succession (Longvillian) there are differences between the faunal assemblages of the north and west. The northern faunas are referred to Dalmanella community which is believed to have occupied a shallower environment than the Nicolella community to the west. In spite of the presumed environmental control of the faunas, the sequence can be fairly precisely correlated with the classic sections in Shropshire and Bala. The Caradoc sedimentary sequence represents a mainly shallow sub-tidal environment with periodic episodes of local emergence. The area deepened during the Longvillian, particularly in the west. There followed a period of non-deposition with probably some erosion at the base of the Nod Glas which itself represents a period of reduced sediment. There is a well-known stratigraphic break at the base of the Ashgill which rests on rocks of Onnian age and on different horizons of the Longvillian.     

Recent shallow marine ostracods from high latitudes: implications for late Pliocene and Quaternary palaeoclimatology

New information about modern high-latitude marine ostracod faunas and about their occurrence in late Pliocene and Quaternary sequences promotes the application of these microfossils to palaeoenvironmental, palaeobiogeographical and palaeoclimatological problems. Five poorly known species (Cluthia cluthae, Finmarchinella logani, Roundstonia globulifera, Roundstonia macchesneyi and Semicytherura complanata) from North Atlantic, North Pacific and Arctic areas are confirmed as extant and are used to demonstrate the potential of marine ostracods as tools for palaeoclimate studies. The genus Bonnyannella Athersuch, 1982 is shown to be a junior synonym of Roundstonia Neale, 1973.     

Stratigraphic and biofacies patterns in the Middle Pennsylvanian Magoffin marine unit in the Appalachian Basin, U.S.A.

The Magoffin marine unit is a Middle Pennsylvanian age interval of marine strata that directly overlies the Taylor, Copeland, and correlative coal zones in the Appalachian Basin. For this study the Magoffin was measured, described, and sampled at 17 localities along a northeast to southwest transect in the center of the Middle Pennsylvanian outcrop belt in eastern Kentucky and West Virginia. Throughout the study area the base of the Magoffin is characterized by a thin, dark, highly fossiliferous limestone with a brachiopod-dominated fossil assemblage. The limestone base is usually overlain by a fining-upward sequence consisting of fossiliferous dark shales or mudstones with mollusk-dominated assemblages. These dark mudstones include a fissile black shale with a distinctive Posidonia fauna deposited over part of the study area. The lower, fining sequence is overlain by a thicker, coarsening sequence bearing brachiopod-dominated fossil assemblages. The lower beds of the Magoffin, particularly the basal limestone, are persistent and relatively uniform throughout the study area. In contrast, strata in the upper part of the Magoffin sequence show a high degree of geographic variability, with localities in the southwestern half of the study area showing two successive, thick, coarsening-upward sequences of strata, while those to the northeast record a single thinner coarsening-upward sequence.The widespread, uniform nature of the basal Magoffin limestone appears to indicate rapid transgressive flooding of the coal-swamp and associated environments accompanied by a hiatus in clastic influx into the Magoffin seaway. Nearshore brachiopod faunas were replaced by deeper-water, possibly dysaerobic-adapted mollusk faunas as transgression progressed, culminating in the fissile black shales and monotaxic Posidonia fauna deposited beneath a localized pycnocline during maximum transgression. The onset of regression is indicated by the reverse of the stratigraphic sequence of faunas observed during transgression, and by the return of rapid clastic influx into the basin.     

Benthonic and planktonic foraminifera in relation to the Early Holocene stagnation in the Ionian Basin, Central Mediterranean

The distribution patterns of benthonic and planktonic foraminifera in cores from the Ionian Basin, central Mediterranean, were investigated in relation to the deposition of sapropel S-1. The sapropel is a dark organic-rich sediment deposited under anoxic conditions during the last marine stagnation in the Early Holocene. The major divisions between both benthonic and planktonic faunas correspond to changes in the core lithology and coincide with the transitions between pre-sapropel, sapropel/'oxidized layer' and post-sapropel sediments. The faunal evidence shows that the oxidized layer belongs to the sapropel sequence. The planktonic faunas have the same species composition as in the sapropel sediment and the high density of planktonic species continues into the oxidized layer. The oxidized layer is devoid of a benthonic fauna or contains a 'sapropel-associated' fauna composed of infaunal species with an affinity to high supply of organic material material and low oxygen. High depletion in the heavy oxygen isotope in the oxidized layer substantiates the faunal evidence. A peak in abundance of the planktonic species Globorotalia inflata at the top of the oxidized layer marks the time when turnover of the water masses ended the stagnation phase and sapropel sedimentation in the Ionian Basin at about 6000 BP. The distribution of the benthonic and planktonic foraminifera shows that the sapropel in the central part of the Ionian Basin was originally almost twice as thick as it is today. When oxygen returned to the deep sediments the top of the sapropel was oxidized to 4–7 cm below its original surface. Only the lower part of the sapropel is preserved. The remainder is now a red laminated layer, the 'oxidized layer'.     

弱海相性有孔虫群的特征及其代表的沉积环境

本文针对我国第四纪内陆有孔虫化石群的出现及其存在问题,提出有没有非海相有孔虫以及第四纪内陆有孔虫化石群是否都与海水入侵有关等问题。作者从我国现代海岸带有孔虫群调查着手,结合国外资料,说明弱海相性有孔虫群的分布及特征,分析我国第四纪内陆有孔虫化石群的生态环境,指出弱海相性有孔虫群具有一定的指相意义,是一类非正常的海相有孔虫群,不仅存在于海岸带,也可出现在内陆环境,出现有孔虫群不一定证明有海水入侵,只要有适宜的水化学条件也可出现。推论第四纪内陆有孔虫群有的与海水有关,有的可能无关。     

The Gondwanan Carboniferous-Permian Boundary Revisited: New Data from Australia and Argentina

The identification and correlation of the Carboniferous-Permian (Gzhelian-Asselian) boundary within the sedimentary sequences of Gondwana has always been a topic of debate. Type latest Carboniferous and earliest Permian marine sequences are characterised by warm tropical faunas and come from the Uralian Region of Russia and Kazakhstan. Faunas include conodonts and fusulinid foraminiferids which are prime tools for correlation. Such faunal groups are absent from most Gondwanan sequences where reliance for correlations must be placed primarily on brachiopods, bivalve molluscs and palynology. The Western Australian marine sequences, with their contained ammonoids, provide a pivotal link for the dating and correlating of Early Permian Gondwanan sequences with those of the type regions and their palynostratigraphical record is essential for trans-Australian correlations and correlations elsewhere throughout Gondwanaland.New data from the fully cored DM Tangorin DDHl bore hole, drilled in the Cranky Corner Basin, New South Wales, Australia, reveals a sequence of descending faunal zones. The stratigraphically highest zone with Eurydesrna cordaturn, encompasses the Late Sakmarian (Sterlitamakian). The middle zone with Torniopsis elongata, Sulciplica c r a m and Trigonotreta tangorini straddles the Sterlitamakian-Tastubian boundary, with the palynomorphs Pseudoreticulatispora pseudoreticulata high in the zone and Granulatisporites confluens low in the zone. An impoverished fauna with Trigonotreta nov., low in the Granulatisporites confluens Zone, is probably of latest Asselian or Tastubian age.Significant new data from Argentina has revealed marine faunas from below the occurrence of Granulatisporites confluens. These are considered to be of Asselian age. Outcrops of the Tupe Formation, with a marine fauna, at La Herradura Creek in the western Paganzo Basin, San Juan Province, are best regarded as being of mid to late Asselian age. The Tupe Fauna has been recognised as the Tivertonia jachalensis-Streptorhynchus inaequiornatus Zone. Previously, this fauna was considered to be of Late Carboniferous or Stephanian age. Three faunal associations are known from the Rio del Peii6n Formation, Rio Blanco Basin, La Rioja Province. The middle assemblage with Tivertonia, Costaturnulus, Kochiproductus and Trigonotreta, appears to correlate well with the Tupe Formation fauna. The lower assemblage, with Streptorhynchus, Etherilosia, Costaturnulus, Trigonotreta and a punctate spiriferid, as well as indeterminate productids, probably of Early Asselian age. The youngest assemblage includes a species ofRhynchopora that is close to Rhynchopora australasica from the latest Asselian-early Tastubian of Western Australia. The marine biostratigraphical data from Argentina has enabled a much greater understanding of the earliest Permian marine faunas to be achieved - a story that is apparently absent from the other cold and cool temperate regions of Gondwana.