A potential GSSP for the base of the uppermost Cambrian stage, coinciding with the first appearance of Lotagnostus americanus at Wa'ergang, Hunan, China

• The first appearance datum (FAD) of the cosmopolitan agnostoid trilobite Lotagnostus americanus is a widely used marker for defining the base of the uppermost stage of the Cambrian System. Detailed field study on the L. americanus-bearing interval of the Wa'ergang section, Hunan, China, reveals the FAD of L. americanus to be 29.65m above the base of the Shengjiawan Formation. This horizon is close to the lowest known occurrences of the intercontinentally distributed polymerid trilobites Hedinaspis regalis and Charchaqia norini. The section has strong potential as a candidate for defining a global standard stratotype-section and point marking the base of provisional Stage 10.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Geologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Geology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Cambrian

Stage 10

GSSP

first appearance datum

agnostoid

Lotagnostus

americanus

Publication and Content Type

art (subject category)

ref (subject category)