New records of rare ammonite species from the Inferior Oolite Formation (Middle Jurassic,Aalenian and Lower Bajocian) of Dorset

Rare ammonite species are reported from the Inferior Oolite Formation of Dorset. In the Aalenian the ammonite Shahrudites is described from the Scissum Zone for the first time and Malladaites is recorded from the Murchisonae Zone. Tmetoceras regleyi occurs in the Scissum and Murchisonae zones and Tmetoceras henriquesae is described from the Concavum Zone. In the Lower Bajocian, specimens of Zurcheria are presented from the Discites Zone. A revised zonal scheme is used for the Aalenian Stage and two new biohorizons are introduced. The Leioceras subglabrum biohorizon is erected in the Opalinum Subzone and Leioceras evolutum in the Bifidatum Subzone.     

A new ammonite discovery from the Lincolnshire Limestone Formation (Lower Bajocian) of Eastern England

A newly discovered ammonite of the genus Hyperlioceras from the Lincolnshire Limestone Formation of Eastern England enables the biostratigraphical position of the principal building stone of Lincoln Cathedral: the ‘Silver Bed’ variant of Lincoln Stone (Lower Lincolnshire Limestone) to be precisely dated as subsectum biohorizon of the Lower Bajocian, Discites Zone. Ammonites are extremely rare in this formation thus the impetus to record it here and provide a firm date for strata in which it occurred following its discovery. The lithostratigraphical provenance of the specimen is briefly discussed and evidence provided to support the conclusion.     

High resolution ammonite–benthic foraminiferal biostratigraphy across the Aalenian–Bajocian boundary in the Lusitanian Basin (Portugal)

This work describes the ammonite and benthic foraminiferal assemblages recorded across the Aalenian–Bajocian boundary of the Serra da Boa Viagem II section, located about 6 km to the east of the Bajocian GSSP (Murtinheira, Portugal), and calibrated to the standard ammonite zonation previously established for the Lusitanian Basin. A total of 220 ammonite specimens referred to 30 fossiliferous levels were collected and identified throughout the section, enabling the recognition of the Concavum Zone (Concavum and Limitatum subzones) of the upper Aalenian, and the Discites Zone of the lower Bajocian. A total of 2356 foraminifers were obtained from the 16 samples collected along the section, corresponding to 4 suborders, 8 families, 16 genera and 44 species. The occurrence of Lenticulina quenstedti (Gümbel) has enabled the recognition of the Lenticulina quenstedti Zone, ranging from the Bradfordensis Zone (middle Aalenian) to the lower Discites Zone (lower Bajocian). The first record of Ramulina spandeli Paalzow, whose occurrence, up to now, was limited in the Lusitanian Basin to the Murtinheira section (the Bajocian GSSP), highlights the usefulness of the Ramulina spandeli Zone, with its lower boundary referred to the lower Discites Zone (lower Bajocian). Other bioevents displaying local, basinal or regional biostratigraphic interest have also been identified. The benthic foraminiferal record here presented, accurately calibrated with the ammonite record, aims at contributing to support the recognition of the Lenticulina quenstedti Zone and the Ramulina spandeli Zone as formal biostratigraphic units integrating the biostratigraphic scale based on benthic foraminifers for the Aalenian–Bajocian boundary in the Lusitanian Basin (Portugal). Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Upper Maastrichtian ammonite biostratigraphy of the Gulf Coastal Plain (Mississippi Embayment,southern USA)

The Cretaceous outcrop belt of the Mississippi Embayment in the Gulf Coastal Plain (GCP) spans the Cretaceous/Paleogene (K/Pg) boundary. A detailed reconstruction of this time interval is critical for understanding the nature of biotic and environmental changes preceding the end-Cretaceous Mass Extinction event and for deciphering the likely extinction mechanism (i.e., bolide impact versus volcanism). Eight sections encompassing the K/Pg succession across the Mississippi Embayment were analyzed using biostratigraphic sampling of ammonites, dinoflagellates, and nannofossils. An upper Maastrichtian ammonite zonation is proposed as follows, from oldest to youngest: Discoscaphites conradi Zone, D. minardi Zone, and D. iris Zone. Our study documents that the ammonite zonation established in the Atlantic Coastal Plain (ACP) extends to the GCP. This zonation is integrated with nannofossil and dinoflagellate biostratigraphy to provide a framework to more accurately determine the age relationships in this region. We demonstrate that ammonites and dinoflagellates are more reliable stratigraphic indicators in this area than nannofossils because age-diagnostic nannofossils are not consistently present within the upper Maastrichtian in the GCP. This biostratigraphic framework has the potential to become a useful tool for correlation of strata both within the GCP and between the GCP, Western Interior, and ACP. The presence of the uppermost Maastrichtian ammonite D. iris, calcareous nannofossil Micula prinsii, and dinoflagellates Palynodinium grallator and Disphaerogena carposphaeropsis suggests that the K/Pg succession in the GCP is nearly complete. Consequently, the GCP is an excellent setting for investigating fine scale temporal changes across the K/Pg boundary and ultimately elucidating the mechanisms causing extinction.     

Upper cretaceous (Santonian-Campanian) ammonite and inoceramid biostratigraphy of the Chico Formation,California

Outcrops of the Upper Cretaceous (Coniacian-Campanian) Chico Formation, exposed along the east flank of California's northern Great Valley, have yielded a highly diverse, well-preserved molluscan fauna. Previously uncollected deposits, as well as classic localities, have been stratigraphically collected to determine the Santonian-Campanian succession of important ammonites and inoceramid bivalves.Five megafossil zones are readily identifed in outcrops of the Chico Formation. These are, in ascending stratigraphic order, the zones of Hyphantoceras venustum, Baculites capensis, Bostrychoceras elongatum, Inoceramus schmidti and Baculites chicoensis.Two of the zones, Bostrychoceras elongatum and I. schmidti, are missing at the type locality of the Chico Formation because of a stratigraphic disconformity. As a result, previous conceptions about the ranges of some important ammonites and inoceramids in California are in error.Lowest exposures of the H. venustum Zone in the Chico Formation are probably latestConiacian in age. Recent palaeomagnetic sampling of Cretaceous strata of the Great Valley (Ward et al., 1983) has confirmed that the Baculites chicoensis Zone is indicative of the lowest Campanian. The age of the I. schmidti Zone in California is therefore latest Santonian.This molluscan sequence enables precise correlation of Chico strata with other Upper Cretaceous outcrop in the Great Valley; in addition, lowermost deposits of the Upper Cretaceous Nanaimo Group of British Columbia can now be firmly correlated with California strata.     

Lower Aptian ammonite biostratigraphy and potential for further studies of OAE 1a in Bulgaria

Sediments of Early Aptian age in Bulgaria can be assigned to four different facies: platform carbonates (Urgonian complex), shallow-water siliciclastics, hemipelagic and flyschoid siliciclastics. The taxonomic analysis of the ammonite faunas of 18 sections from these four different facies resulted in a revision of the existing ammonite zonation scheme so far applied in Bulgaria and adjoining areas. A new biostratigraphic scheme, which bridges the western and eastern Tethys, is thereby proposed for the Lower Aptian of Bulgaria.The Upper Barremian Martelites sarasini Zone is characterized in its upper part by the Pseudocrioceras waagenoides Subzone in the shallow-water sections and by a horizon with Turkmeniceras turkmenicum in the deep-water settings. The Upper Barremian/Lower Aptian boundary is fixed by the first appearance of Paradeshayesites oglanlensis. For the Lower Aptian the following ammonite zones were established (from bottom to top): The Paradeshayesites oglanlensis Zone, the Deshayesites forbesi Zone (= formerly Paradeshayesites weissi Zone) including the Roloboceras hambrovi Subzone in the upper part, the Deshayesites deshayesi Zone including the Paradeshayesites grandis Subzone in the upper part and the Dufrenoyia furcata Zone. The Lower–Middle Aptian boundary has been defined by the appearance of species belonging to the genera Epicheloniceras and Colombiceras.The Lower Aptian ammonite faunas of Bulgaria, allow an interregional correlation with other areas of the Tethyan Realm. The presence of Turkmeniceras in the Upper Barremian enables a correlation with the Transcaspian region, whereas Roloboceras, Koeneniceras and Volgoceratoides found in the middle part of the Lower Aptian are more typical representatives of the ammonite faunas in northern Europe (England, Germany, Volga region).The analysis of the ammonite successions in combination with sedimentological observations enable us to conclude that the marls and marly limestones of the Lower Aptian studied here also cover the interval of the Oceanic Anoxic Event 1a. An interval of thin-laminated clays, rich in organic matter, was identified in the upper part of the D. forbesi Zone (Roloboceras hambrovi Subzone). This interval is characterized by a total lack of benthic faunas.     

Report on the 5th International Meeting of the IUGS Lower Cretaceous Ammonite Working Group,the Kilian Group (Ankara,Turkey, 31st August 2013)

The 5th meeting of the IUGS Lower Cretaceous Ammonite Working Group (the Kilian Group) held in Ankara, Turkey, 31st August 2013, discussed the Mediterranean ammonite zonation, and its calibration with different ammonite zonal schemes of the Boreal, Austral and Central Atlantic realms. Concerning the standard zonation, that corresponds to the zonal scheme of the West Mediterranean province, some changes have been made on two stages. For the Valanginian, the Busnardoites campylotoxus Zone was abandoned; the upper part of the lower Valanginian is now characterised by the Neocomites neocomiensiformis and Karakaschiceras inostranzewi zones. For the upper Barremian, the former Imerites giraudi Zone is here subdivided into two zones, a lower I. giraudi Zone and an upper Martellites sarasini Zone. The I. giraudi Zone is now subdivided into the I. giraudi and Heteroceras emerici subzones, previously considered as horizons. The current M. sarasini and Pseudocrioceras waagenoides subzones correspond to the lower and upper parts of the M. sarasini Zone, respectively. The Anglesites puzosianum Horizon is kept. The Berriasian, Hauterivian, Aptian and Albian zonal schemes have been discussed but no change was made. The upper Hauterivian zonal scheme of the Georgian (Caucasus) region (East Mediterranean province) has been compared with the standard zonation. Discussions and some attempts at correlations are presented here between the standard zonation and the zonal schemes of different palaeobiogeographical provinces: the North-West European area for the Valanginian and Hauterivian, the Argentinean region for the Berriasian, Valanginian and Hauterivian, and the Mexican area for the Valanginian–Hauterivian and Aptian–lower Albian. The report concludes with some proposals for future work.     

A revision of some British Lower Bajocian stephanoceratid ammonites

Members of the ammonite family Stephanoceratidae from the Middle Jurassic, Lower Bajocian, Laeviuscula to Humphriesianum zones of South West England are revised. These comprise faunas resulting from periodic migrations and possibly hybridization. The taxonomic positions of Teloceras Mascke, 1907, Kumatostephanus Buckman, 1922, Gibbistephanus Buckman, 1928 and Pseudoteloceras Pavia and Fernández-López, 2016 are considered in the light of new research. A new subfamily Kumatostephaninae is erected and hypotheses are presented regarding the evolution of some Early Bajocian stephanoceratids. Pseudoteloceras digbyi sp. nov. represents the earliest ‘Teloceras-like’ morphology from the late Sauzei Zone. Refinement is made of the scheme of faunal horizons for the Lower Bajocian.     

Upper cenomanian ammonites from the environs of Saumur,and the provenance of the types of Ammonites vibrayeanus and Ammonites geslinianus

Ammonite faunas consisting of Neolobites vibrayeanus (d'Orbigny), Calycoceras (Calycoceras) naviculare (Mantell), C. (Lotzeites(?)) sp., Pseudocalycoceras lattense Thomel, Metoicoceras geslinianum (d'Orbigny) and Euomphaloceras septemseriatum (Cragin) from Saumur, within the type area of the Turonian stage, are described from the collections of the Château de Saumur. They allow the recognition of two Upper Cenomanian horizons at Saumur, the one equivalent to the Sciponoceras gracile/Metoicoceras geslinianum Zone as developed in the Sables à Catopygus obtusus/Sables de Bousse of the Cenomanian stratotype; the other, older assemblage equates with the Calycoceras naviculare/Eucalycoceras pentagonum Zone fauna known from the Marnes à Ostracées of the type Cenomanian. From lithological comparisons it is suggested that this area is the source of the types of both Metoicoceras geslinianum and Neolobites vibrayeanus, which are redescribed.     

Stable carbon-isotope stratigraphy and ammonite biochronology at Madotz,Navarra, northern Spain: implications for the timing and duration of oxygen depletion during OAE-1a

Detailed stable carbon-isotope and biostratigraphic data based on ammonites allow us to reinterpret the timing of the different units of the Madotz section (62 m thick) in Navarra, northern Spain, relative to OAE-1a. We also infer bulk sedimentary rates and the duration of the intervals that include facies indicative of oxygen depletion. The lowermost part of the sequence includes the predominately clastic unit 1 (3 m) overlain in ascending order by subunits 2a (20 m), 2b (24.4 m) and 2c (basal 15 m studied) of the “Madotz Limestone”. Subunits 2a and 2c consist of Urgonian-type pure carbonate rocks. In contrast, subunit 2b consists of mixed carbonate–clastic facies (24.4 m thick) including beds of claystone and clay/shale with dispersed pyrite and scarce or no benthic foraminifera suggestive of oxygen-depleted conditions, and intermittent orbitolinid-rich intervals. δ¹³C_org data within subunit 2b, between 26.6 and 49.2 m show two excursions of 4.21 and 3.34‰, separated by a central segment with more uniform values around 22.56%. Compared to the high-resolution δ¹³C stratigraphy of the Early Aptian of the Alpine Tethys, these two positive excursions correlate with segments C4 and C6 of OAE-1a, whereas the central segment correlates with segment C5. New ammonite findings include Deshayesites cf. forbesi Casey and Pseudohaploceras? sp. in the uppermost part of unit 1, and D. cf. forbesi Casey, Pseudosaynella bicurvata (Michelin) and P. raresulcata (d'Orbigny) in the middle part of subunit 2b. The presence of D. cf. forbesi in unit 1 (0–37.7 m) and subunit 2b (lower 14.7 m), the first appearance datum of Pseudosaynella in subunit 2b, and the high relative abundance of Pseudosaynella specimens, support a stratigraphic position correlative with at least the upper part of the D. forbesi Zone (formerly D. weissi Zone). Such an ammonite faunal assemblage implies a lower stratigraphic position in the Lower Aptian (Bedoulian) than previously assigned to the section. Segments C4 and most of C5 comprise the lower part of subunit 2b and correspond to the upper part of the D. forbesi Zone. Based on chemostratigraphic correlations with published Spanish sections (Barranco de las Calzadas, Cap de Vinyet and Cau) in which calibrations of δ¹³C_carb stages with ammonite zones was possible, we infer that the interval of the Madotz section between 37.7 and 53.1 m, or the upper part of subunit 2b and the basal part of subunit 2c, whose δ¹³C_org signal is indicative of stages C5, C6, and perhaps the beginning of stage C7, also correlates with the D. forbesi Zone. Average bulk sedimentation rate for C-isotope stages C4–C6 of OAE-1a ranges from 1.8 to 2.09 cm/kyr in the Madotz section. Facies indicative of oxygen deficiency are restricted to C-isotope stage C4 and part of C5 of OAE-1a. Hypoxic conditions lasted about 95.23–120 kyr and are coeval with deposition of the most prominent claystone and shale layers (1.8 m thick), which display the lowest TIC values (8.16–18.93 weight% CaCO₃) and the highest TOC in the section (0.4–0.97%).     

Correlation of late Cretaceous calcareous nannofossil zones with ammonite zones and planktonic Foraminifera: the Austrian Gosau sections

The late Turonian to early Campanian calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy of the Austrian Gosau Group is correlated with ammonite and planktonic foraminiferal zones. The standard Tethyan zonations for nannofossils and planktonic foraminifers are applied with only minor modifications. The basal marine sediments of the Gosau Group, bearing late Turonian-early Coniacian macrofossils, belong to the Marthasterites furcatus nannofossil Zone (CC13). The Micula decussata Zone (middle Coniacian to early Santonian) is combined with the Reinhardtites anthophorus Zone because of the rare occurrence of Renhardtites cf. R. anthophorus already in the Coniacian and taxonomic problems concerning the correct identification of this species. The Santonian-Campanian boundary lies within the Calculites obscures Zone (CCl7).     

The upper Bajocian-Lower Bathonian of Pechora River basin and Boreal-Tethyan correlation

Distribution of ammonites in the Bajocian-Bathonian boundary beds of the Izhma River basin is considered. A new scheme of zonal subdivisions suggested for the Pechora basin includes the Arctocephalites arcticus Zone of the upper Bajocian and the Arctocephalites greenlandicus-Arcticoceras ishmae Zone of the lower Bathonian. The Dreshchanka Formation age (late Bajocian-early Bathonian) and the commencement time of the Boreal sea transgression (Late Bajocian) are specified. Correlation of the Bajocian-Bathonian boundary strata of the northern Caucasus, central and northern Russia with stratigraphic scales of Western Europe and East Greenland are discussed. New infrazonal subdivisions, i.e., the faunal horizons, are described. As is shown, the parkinsoni-zigzag zonal boundary accepted to be the Bajocian-Bathonian boundary in standard scale corresponds to boundaries separating the michalskii and besnosovi zones in the Lower Volga region and the arcticus and greenlandicus zones in the Boreal areas.     

Mode of occurrence and taphonomy of the heteromorph ammonite Pravitoceras sigmoidale Yabe from the Upper Cretaceous Izumi Group,Japan

The heteromorph ammonite Pravitoceras sigmoidale Yabe, of the family Nostoceratidae, is the zonal marker of the upper Campanian P. sigmoidale Zone in southwest Japan, and is the main component of ammonite assemblages in this zone. We explain the taphonomic processes underlying the occurrence of P. sigmoidale in the Izumi Group, specifically in the Minato (Awaji Island), Anaga (Awaji Island), Koike–Omoizaki (Shikoku), and Hidonodani sections (Shikoku). The first two sections consist mainly of the non-turbiditic Northern Marginal Facies (NMF), while the latter two sections comprise the Main Facies (MF), a turbiditic facies deposited in waters deeper than those of the NMF. We recognise three modes of occurrence of P. sigmoidale, as follows: (1) In nodules crowded with P. sigmoidale (NCP); this mode occurs only in the NMF, and includes juvenile and adult specimens, together with other ammonites such as Solenoceras (Oxybeloceras) aff. humei (Douvillé), (2) In mudstone with isolated P. sigmoidale (MIP), which is found in all of the sections studied, (3) In sandstone with isolated P. sigmoidale (SIP), which occurs only in the MF. Adult individuals of P. sigmoidale are dominant in most of the sections, while juveniles were observed only in the Minato section, which originally was closer to land areas. The number of specimens of P. sigmoidale and Solenoceras spp. tends to increase in sections representing depositional environments proximal to terrestrial areas. Ammonite assemblages could have been transported from shallow- to deep-water settings by turbidity currents. The sorting of components by transport processes likely contributed to the formation of these fossil assemblages in different areas. This is an important clue to understanding the habitat of heteromorph ammonite life assemblages consisting mainly of P. sigmoidale.     

The Darriwilian acritarch assemblage from Ordovician deposits of the Arkhangelsk Oblast, the northern Russian Plate

Borehole 2506 drilled in the northern area of the Arkhangelsk Oblast penetrated through the Paleozoic sedimentary block isolated in the Vendian thick sequence. A diverse acritarch assemblage has been established within the depth interval of 119.9–217.5 m. The assemblage comprises more than 70 taxa, including species characteristic of the boundary interval between the Volkhov and Kunda horizons of the East European Platform (the graptolite Didymograptus hirundo Zone). Stratigraphic position of host deposits was established within the Darriwilian Stage of the Middle Ordovician. The described assemblage of microphytofossils is similar to coeval assemblages from NW Russia, Baltic region, and Scandinavia, being typical of the Baltic phytoplankton province of temperate latitudes. A great number of species in common suggests that the assemblage under consideration is correlative with coeval assemblages of southern China thus offering a possibility of remote correlation.     

Pollen analysis of some mid-Pleistocene interglacial lagoonal sediments from southern Delaware

Results of pollen analysis on lagoonal sediments from southern Delaware, dated at 500,000–1,000,000 yr B.P. by amino acid racemization, are presented. Three pollen zones are identified in sediments that were deposited during the final stage of an interglacial cycle. A closed forest of mixed conifer-deciduous trees dominated by Tsuga, Pinus, Fagus, Liquidambar, and Quercus is recorded in the basal zone (Zone I). The inferred climate at this time was temperate and moist. A probable lowering of sea level during the deposition of Zone II exposed large areas in the surrounding estuaries and tidal flats which were colonized by marsh and bog plant taxa. Zone III is characterized by Pinus, Quercus, and Picea pollen. A scrub oak-pine association may have been favored on the coarse sandy soils of the Delmarva Peninsula at this time because of a drop in the local water table. The inferred climate during this interval was colder and probably drier than in Zone I.     

Late Quaternary activity of the Feldbiss Fault Zone, Roer Valley Rift System, the Netherlands, based on displaced fluvial terrace fragments

The Meuse River crosses the Feldbiss Fault Zone, one of the main border fault zones of the Roer Valley Graben in the southern part of the Netherlands. Uplift of the area south of the Feldbiss Fault Zone forced the Meuse River to incise and, as a result, a flight of terraces was formed. Faults of the Feldbiss Fault Zone have displaced the Middle and Late Pleistocene terrace deposits. In this study, an extensive geomorphological survey was carried out to locate the faults of the Feldbiss Fault Zone and to determine the displacement history of terrace deposits.The Feldbiss Fault Zone is characterized by an average displacement rate of 0.041–0.047 mm a⁻¹ during the Late Pleistocene. Individual faults show an average displacement rate ranging between 0.010 and 0.034 mm a⁻¹. The spatial variation in displacement rates along the individual faults reveals a system of overstepping faults. These normal faults developed by reactivation of Paleozoic strike-slip faults.As fault displacements at the bases of the younger terrace deposits are apparently similar to the tops of the adjacent older terrace, the age of these horizons is the same within thousands of years. This implies that the model of terrace development by rapid fluvial incision followed by slow aggradation does apply for this area.     

New ammonite zonation of the lower Callovian in North Siberia

The lower Callovian succession observable in cliffs of Anabar Bay and Bolshoi Begichev Island is described with consideration of zonal subdivisions and beds with ammonites. The unified summary biozonation suggested for North Siberia includes the Cadoceras elatmae Zone with C. frearsi and C. elatmae (instead former C. anabarense) subzones, subsequent C. tschernyschewi and C. tolype zones, and successive C. cf. sublaeve, Rondiceras milaschevici, and Cadoceras ex gr. durum (formerly part of the middle Callovian) beds. As in Siberia and East Europe there are species in common C. elatmae (Nik.), C. frearsi (Orb.), C. tolype Buck., and C. emelianzevi Vor.; certain ammonite zones of Siberian succession are directly correlated with the East European, East Greenland and standard zonations. It is concluded that the lower Callovian is completely represented in Siberia. The lower part of the interval, formerly attributed to the middle Callovian, represents the upper part of the lower Callovian Substage. Zones established in the lower Callovian succession of Siberia are contiguous, whereas equivalents of the Elatmae Subzone and Tschernyschewi Zone have not been distinguished in sections of East Greenland. Evolutionary trends of species in subfamily Cadoceratinae are preliminary discussed.     

Section of Permian deposits and fusulinids in the Halvan Mountains, Yazd province, Central Iran

The Permian section situated northwest of Tabas in the Halvan Mountains is studied and fusulinids occurring in the section are described. The Chili, Sartakht, and Hermez formations distinguished in the section are separated by horizons of bauxitic laterite and belong to the Khan Group formerly ranked as a synonymous formation. Fusulinids occur at two levels in the section. The lower one confined to the Chili Formation yields the so-called Kalaktash fusulinid assemblage of the late Sakmarian age. The second late Asselian assemblage has been discovered in pebbles from conglomerate-breccia in the basal laterite of the Sartakht Formation. A brief characterization of fusulinids is presented and three new species are described. The new Benshiella genus is discriminated from the Rugosofusulinidae family. As Skinner and Wilde (1965, 1966) changed the original diagnosis of the Pseudofusulina genus, we suggest, regarding all species, which have been attributed to this genus but do not satisfy the new diagnosis, as representing the new Nonpseudofusulina genus.     

Stage boundaries of the Triassic in Northeast Asia

The International Union of Geological Science approved the stage boundaries suggested by the international working groups for the Tethyan Triassic. In this work we estimate the possibility of their establishment and correlation in the Boreal sections of Northeast Asia, based on the analyzed distribution of ammonoids and conodonts. As the conodonts of the Induan Stage have not been identified for sure in the region under study, the lower boundary of the Triassic System is defined here at the base of the Otoceras concavum Zone of the ammonoid scale. In addition to the ammonoids Hedenstroemia hedenstroemi (Keyserling), the first occurrence of the conodonts Pseudogondolella nepalensis (Kozur et Mostler) is suggested to be the biomarker of the Olenekian Stage base. The lower boundaries of the Anisian and Ladinian stages, defined respectively at the basal levels of the Paracrochordiceras-Japonites Beds in Northern Dobrogea and the Eoprotrachyceras curionii Zone in the Brescian Prealps are recognizable, though with some reservations, at the base of the Grambergia taimyrensis and Eonathorstites oleshkoi zones in Northeast Asia. According to the priority principle and similarity between the ammonoid faunas of the Daxatina cf. canadensis Subzone and Frankites regoledanus Zone, the lower boundary of the Carnian Stage is defined at the base of the Alpine Trachyceras aon Zone. In Northeast Asia, this boundary is established at the base of the “Protrachyceras” omkutchanicum Zone, as we take into account the fact that the Daxatina and Stolleyites ammonoid genera occur in sections of British Columbia below the stratigraphic level of the Trachyceras forms. The lower boundary of the Norian Stage is concurrent with the base of the Guembelites jandianus Zone in the Alps and equivalent Stikinoceras kerri Zone in North America and Striatosirenites kinasovi Zone in Northeast Asia. The conodont species Norigondolella navicula (Huckriede) that is most important for the Boreal-Tethyan correlation cannot be used as a biomarker of the Norian lower boundary because of its problematic diagnosis and rare occurrence in the Boreal sections. The Rhaetian Stage base is defined at the appearance level of the Misikella conodont genus in the Hallstatt region, Austria, that is simultaneously the disappearance level of the characteristic Norian bivalves (Monotis) and ammonoids (Metasibirites). In Northeast Asia, this boundary is established at the top of the Monotis ochotica Zone. The correlation between the biostratigraphic units of the Middle-Upper Triassic conodont scale established in Northeast Asia and standard ammonoid zonation is verified.