 |
|
|
NEW OCCURRENCES OF PERMIAN CORALS FROM THE MCCLOUD BELT ABSTRACT
Previously unreported Permian rugose corals from several terranes considered part of the McCloud Belt are herein described and figured. These include two species from the Eastern Klamath terrane, one of which is described as new; four species from the Central Belt of the Northern Sierra Nevada, with two additional species thought to have been derived from that terrane; four species from the Bilk Creek terrane; and two species from the Harper Ranch subterrane of the Quesnel terrane, one of which is described as new. Permian species of Lytvophyllum? and Cystolonsdaleia are now reported from almost all parts of the dispersed McCloud Belt, and Heterocaninia? is now known from the Bilk Creek terrane in addition to the Eastern Klamath terrane. These newly reported occurrences strengthen the interpretation that these terranes were closely associated during Early Permian time. None of these genera, however, occur anywhere along the Pangaean margin of North America. Conversely, Protowentzelella and Tschussovskenia, which are abundantly represented in Lower Permian rocks all along the western and northern margins of cratonal North America, are rare in rocks of the McCloud Belt. These faunal differences suggest that the terranes of the McCloud Belt lay far out in the Paleopacific Ocean, far west of cratonal North America during the Early Permian so that faunal exchange was minimal. KEY WORDS: Permian; corals; McCloud Belt, western North America; new species
PE Article Number: 12.2.6A |
|