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Huainan Bed Formation

Huainan Bed Fm


Period: 
Neogene

Age Interval: 
Late Miocene to Late Pliocene (Messinian to Piacenzian), N1-2


Province: 
Anhui

Type Locality and Naming

Qiu et al. (2013, in Wang et al., 2013) firstly used this name to describe the fissure fillings producing Neogene mammalian fossils in the water-eroded caves developed in the Ordovician Dajushan Fm limestones from Huainan area, Anhui Province (Jin et al., 1999; Jin, 2004; Tomida et al., 2007). This bed is combined by three short sections, e.g. the Laodong Cave (yielding the Huainan Fauna), the Xindong Cave, and the Tiesiju Cave, which are all located on the Dajushan Hill (E117°01′, N32°35′) in Bagongshan District, about 15 km west of Huainan City, Anhui Provicne.


Lithology and Thickness

The Laodong section is divided into two parts: Lower part is formed by yellowish-brown sandy mudstones with small amount breccia, light reddish-brown muddy sandstones with small amount conglomerates, and brownish-red muddy sandstones with granules. Upper part consists of greyish-white subclay with small breccia, earthy yellow muddy sandstones, and greyish-yellow and green-yellow motley sandy mudstones. It contains abundant fossil mammals, birds, and turtles. Its thickness is about 15 m (Jin et al., 1999). The Xindong section is strongly consolidated by abundant calcareous cementation and consists of chocolate-brown clayey breccia, reddish-brown sandy mudstones with small amount of breccia, and reddish-brown sandy stones with gravels and sandy mudstones. Its thickness is about 16 m (Jin and Zhang, 2005; Tomida and Jin, 2007). The Tiesiju section is characterized by reddish mud and muddy sand with some limestone breccia, consolidated by calcareous cementation. Its thickness is unknown (Tomida and Jin, 2007).


Lithology Pattern: 
Sandy claystone


Relationships and Distribution

Lower contact

The Huainan Bed is a series of fissure fillings deposited in the water-eroded caves developed in the Ordovician Dajushan Fm limestones. There are three caves deposited with Neogene sediments and abundant fossils, including the Laodong Cave, the Xindong Cave, and the Tiesiju Cave. In biostratigraphy, they are in late Late Miocene, Early Pliocene, and Late Pliocene, respectively (Tomida and Jin, 2007).

Upper contact

Regional extent

The Huainan Bed is restricted on the Dajushan hill, Huainan City, Anhui Province.


GeoJSON

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Fossils

Huainan Fauna: Erinaceus sp., Rhinolophus sp., Hipposideros sp., Myotis sp., Alilepus lii, Pliopentalagus huainanensis, Allocrietus cf. A. bursae, Kowalskia spp., Ursus sp., Nyctereute sp., Meles sp., Rhinocerotidae gen. et sp. indet., Cervidae gen. et sp. indet. (Jin et al., 1999; Jin, 2004). Xindong Fauna: Promimomys asiaticus, Pliopentalagus dajushanensis (Jin and Zhang, 2005; Tomida and Jin, 2007). Tiesiju Fauna: Pliopentalagus anhuiensis (Tomida and Jin, 2007).


Age 

Qiu et al. (2013, in Wang et al., 2013) mentioned two faunas (the Huainan Fauna and the Laodong Fauna) contained in the Huainan Bed, and chronologically restricted them in range of late Late Miocene to Early Pliocene. Actually, the Laodong Fauna is a synonym of the Huainan Fauna. According to the stratigraphic description by Tomida and Jin (2007), caves are developed in six different elevation horizontals and their sediments and fossils span the temporal range of the late Late Miocene to the Middle Pleistocene. Here, we selected three Neogene caves (Laodong, Xindong, and Tiesiju) as the fundamentals of the Huainan Bed.

Age Span: 

    Beginning stage: 
Messinian

    Fraction up in beginning stage: 
0.0

    Beginning date (Ma): 
7.25

    Ending stage: 
Piacenzian

    Fraction up in the ending stage: 
1.0

    Ending date (Ma):  
2.58

Depositional setting

It is interpreted as a cave fissure environment.


Depositional pattern:  

Additional Information


Compiler:  

Tao Deng, Sukuan Hou, J.Z. Qigao, Q. Li, Q.Q. Shi, B.Y. Sun, S.Q. Wang, F.X. Wu