A potential stratotype for the regional lowermost stage of the continental Paleocene in China

Phanerozoic chronostratigraphic units can only be defined through their lower boundary stratotypes. The lowermost stage of the Paleocene of China, which mainly consists of terrestrial deposits, can only be defined through its lower boundary stratotype, i.e. the continental Cretaceous/Paleogene boundary stratotype. There is no section yet found which contains continuous terrestrial deposits and biostratigraphic records of the Cretaceous-Paleogene transition in Nanxiong, Guangdong and Jiayin, Heilongjiang, there is no evidence for establishing the continental stratotype of the Cretaceous/Paleogene boundary in either area. Therefore, both the “Shanghuan stage” and “Furaoan stage” are not good candidates for the lowermost stage of the Paleocene of China. From the viewpoint of charophytes, the outcrop section of the Dangyang, Hubei Province (Central China) contains the most continuous, abundant and diverse terrestrial biostratigraphic records of the Cretaceous-Paleogene transition, in particular the early Paleocene, known so far in the world. The biostratigraphic records of ostracods in the transition are also continuous, rich, and diverse. The Dangyang outcrop section is the only section known so far in China that is a possible candidate for a continental stratotype of the Cretaceous/Paleogene boundary in China and the section is the only potential section identified to date for establishing the regional lowermost stage of the Paleocene, Paleogene and Cenozoic in China or stratotype section for the stage.