DEVONIAN CORALS FROM ZHAOTONG,NE YUNNAN (3)—EARLY FRASNIAN RUGOSE CORALS

A relatively complete and thick lower through upper Devonian shallow marine sequence crops out in the vicinity of Qingmen Village in the suburb of Zhaotong, NE Yunnan Province, which yields abundant shallow water benthic fossils. The Qingmen section(including Fangyangchong)has become a reference Devonian section in the NE Yunnan due to its well established stratigraphic succession.Nevertheless,rugose corals have not been described until recently.The present paper is the third of the series of rugose corals studies,dealing with early Frasnian strata and rugose corals, with discussions on lithostratigraphy,correlation of coral faunas and their palaeobiogeography. The Upper Devonian sequence at Qingmen(Fangyangchong) is lithologically consistent with the Zaige Formation.This formation is mainly composed of dolomitic limestones and bears very few fossils.So that its geological age is not readily determined.Hence,the description and illustration of the rugose coral fauna from the base of the Zaige Formation of Qingmen(Fangyangchong)is of some importance.This fauna is composed of five genera and seven species,including Sinodisphyllum simplex,S.variabile,Disphyllum catenatum,Hexagonaria magna,H.davidsoni,Temnophyllum poshiense and Truncicarinulum temeniophylloides. These rugose corals overall suggest an early Frasnian age and a close biogeographic relationship between South China and western Canada.the description and illustration of the rugose coral fauna from the base of the Zaige Formation of Qingmen(Fangyangchong)is of some importance.This fauna is composed of five genera and seven species,including Sinodisphyllum simplex,S.variabile,Disphyllum catenatum,Hexagonaria magna,H.davidsoni,Temnophyllum poshiense and Truncicarinulum temeniophylloides. These rugose corals overall suggest an early Frasnian age and a close biogeographic relationship between South China and western Canada.

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