Uppermost Carboniferous and Lowermost Permian Deposition and Conodont Biostratigraphy of Kansas, USA

Darwin R. Boardman, II, Merlynd K. Nestell and Bruce R. Wardlaw

pp. 19-32, in English

Abstract:

The Kansas section of upper Gzhelian–Asselian rocks is composed of a series of major and minor order cyclothems consisting mostly of shales and limestones with some sand, commonly as channels. The rocks represent terrestrial soil, marginal marine estuarine and swamp, and shallow marine deposition. Flooding surfaces are distinguished by normal marine faunas and the increase of conodont diversity. Maximum flooding surfaces within each cycle contain a dominance of offshore normal marine conodont faunas, especially species of Streptognathodus. Four major and six minor changeovers in Streptognathodus species mark the stratigraphic succession and provide a refined biostratigraphy to correlate the section. The current favored boundary for the Carboniferous–Permian in the southern Urals can be confidently correlated to the base of the Bennett Shale Member of the Red Eagle Limestone.

Keywords: conodont, biostratigraphy, Kansas