中国泥盆纪珊瑚的生物地理区系

<正> 古生物地理学是研究地质历史时期生物化石的地理分布及其变化的一门学科。古生物地理区系是判断古板块位置、重建古地理最有力的证据,因此它与古地磁学和古气候学是构成现代古地理学的三大支柱。

Biogeographic provinces of the Devonian corals in China

The study of the Early and early Middle Devonian corals of China permits the discrimination of 4 distinct biogeographic provinces: 1) The Junggar-Hinggan province is characterized by the absence of the typical Givetian brachiopod Stringocephalus and the presence of small solitary non-dissepiments of corals; 2) The southern Tianshan province is characterized by extensive development of Chalamydophyllum, Alaiphyllum in the Early Devonian. It is probably related to that of the Urals; 3)The Palaeotethyan province including Xizang (Tibet) and western Yunnan, yields a lot of Australian elements of Early Devonian age, such as M artinophyllum, Embolophyllum, Loyolophyllum, Lyrielasma and Carlinastraea; 4) The South China province was an area of high Early Devonian endemism, especially in the Siegenian and in the Lower Emsian. However, from Late Emsian on, there appeared many West European and western North American, as well as some Australian genera.