Fangzi Fm
Type Locality and Naming
The type section is located in the area of Fangzi Coal Mine, Weifang City, Shandong Province. It was named by Tan Xichou as the “Fangzi System” in 1923.
Synonym: （坊子组）
Lithology and Thickness
The formation is composed mainly of grey sandy shale and grey-black carbonaceous shale, intercalated with sandy conglomerate and coal beds. Thickness is about 100-400 m.
Relationships and Distribution
Lower contact
It is in an unconformable contact with the underlying Taishan Gr or the Paleozoic Erathem. Unconformable contact with the underlying Wennan Fm of? Toarcian [See discussion in that entry about uncertainty of the relationship.]
Upper contact
Unconformable or disconformable contact with the overlying Santai Fm
Regional extent
The formation is distributed essentially in the Chezhen Town, Dawang Village, Jihe Village and Luojia Village of Zhanhua County; the Gudao Island of Kenli County; the Fangzi region of Weifang City; the Xinzhuang Village of Anqiu County; the area extending from Buoshan to Dakunlun of Zibuo City, to the west of the Zichuan line, as well as in the Longhua region of Zhangqiu County and the Qingzhuang Village of Zouping County, Shandong Province. And in the area of the Fangzi District, Weifang City, important coalfields were formed.
GeoJSON
Fossils
It yields abundant plant fossils and spore-pollen fossils, which belong to the middle-stage assemblage of the Coniopteris-Phoenicopsis flora and consist of 16 genera and more than 20 species, whose important members are: Equisetum cf. sarrani, Neocalamites carrerei, Todites denticulate, Conipteris hymenophylloides, C. burejensis, Eboracia lobifolia and Clathropteris meniscioides; as for the spore-pollen assemblage, it is predominated largely by Classopollis constituting 90%, and secondly by Cyathidites, Protopinus, Piceaepollenites, Quadraeculina, Cycadoptites and Ephedripites.
Age
Depositional setting
The formation represents intermontane-basin, fluvial-lacustrine and swamp-facies deposits, containing mineable coal beds.
Additional Information