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Limuping Formation

Limuping Fm

Period: 
Paleogene

Age Interval: 
late Paleocene, (24)


Province: 
Hunan

Type Locality and Naming

The naming section is located near Limuping ~10 km southwest of Hengdong County, Hunan and the reference section is located in the Lingcha-Pukuitang ~15 km southwest of Hengdong County. Named by the Petroleum Party of Hunan in 1975, redefined by Li Chuan (1976), and formally published in 1979.

Synonym: Lingcha Fm


Lithology and Thickness

Lower part is purplish red and brownish red muddy sandstone and sandy mudstone with variegated (bluish gray, grayish green, grayish white and grayish black) mudstone and marlstone; the base, purplish red, grayish yellow and yellowish green pebbly sandstone and sandy conglomerate beds or lenses. Upper part is purplish red and brownish red muddy sandstone and sandy mudstone with grayish green, yellowish green and grayish yellow mudstone and marlstone, containing abundant calcareous concretions. The thickness of this formation is ~130–400 m.


Lithology Pattern: 
Clayey sandstone


Relationships and Distribution

Lower contact

This formation has a faulted contact with the underlying Devonian or a conformable or disconformable contact with the Paleogene Xialiushi Fm. Older Chinese lexicon stratigraphic column for Hunan shows Zaoshi Fm as next older regional unit.

Upper contact

Unconformable contact with the overlying Quaternary. Regionally, next younger unit is the Xiawangpu Fm of early Eocene.

Regional extent

It is mainly distributed in the vicinity of Limuping and Lingcha in Hengdong County in the northern part of the Hengyang basin. In addition, similar horizons are also exposed at Jiaoshanping, Niejia’ao and Dengtang north of Hengyang.


GeoJSON

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Fossils

Over 9 species of fossil vertebrates have been found in the formation up to now. In the lower part, there are less species; besides turtles, there are mainly the crocodiles Planocrania hengdongensis and the mammals Archaeolambda sp. In the upper part, besides turtles, there are such mammal species as ? Asiocoryphodon sp., Hapalodectes hetangensis, Matutinia nitidulus, Hunanictis inexpectatus, Hsiangolestes youngi, Cocomys lingchaensis, Propachynalophus hengyangensis and Orientolomys hengdongensis; in addition, there are abundant lizard fossils. Besides the aforesaid fossils, in this horizon there also appear the charophytes assemblage represented by Nemegtichara prima, Gobichara deserta, Neochara huananensis and Grovesichara changzhouensis and the ostracods assemblage dominated by Sinocypris reticulata, Limnocythere hubeiensis, Cypris henanensis and Metachypris changzhouensis.


Age 

Previous studies suggest that the Paleogene in Hengyang basin can be divided into upper and lower parts. Lower part is Chashan’ao formation (or Xialiushi formation) with fish fossils, and the age is Paleocene; Upper part is Limuping formation (or Lingcha formation) with mammalian fossils, and the age is Early Eocene (Zheng Jiajian et al., 1999). Later, according to the magnetostratigraphy, isotope stratigraphy and detailed biostratigraphic comparison carried out by Chinese and American scientists in Lingcha area, it is found that the Limuping formation (or Lingcha formation) originally defined actually straddles the Paleocene and Eocene. Based on the negative shift of carbon isotope, the original Limuping formation can be divided into upper and lower parts. Lower part mainly produces crocodile Planocrania hengdongensis and the mammal Archaeolambda sp., and the age is Late Paleocene; Upper part mainly produces mammals Asiocoryphodon sp., Hapalodectes hetangensis, Matutinia nitidulus, Hunanictis inexpectatus, Hsiangolestes youngi, Cocomys lingchaensis, Propachynalophus hengyangensis and Orientolomys hengdongensis in the early Eocene. Therefore, Tong Yongsheng (2006) suggested that the original name of Limuping formation should be used to represent the late Paleocene strata, while the name of Lingcha formation should be used to refer to the early Eocene strata. (Tong Yongsheng et al., 2006; National Commission on Stratigraphy of China, 2018; Li Chuankui, Qiu Zhuding et al., 2019; Wang Yuanqing et al., 2019.). Wang, Y.Q., et al. (2019, Paleogene Integr. Strat. Timescale China; Sci. China: Earth Sci., 62) assign as Thanetian (Bayanulian regional stage).

Age Span: 

    Beginning stage: 
Thanetian

    Fraction up in beginning stage: 
0.0

    Beginning date (Ma): 
59.24

    Ending stage: 
Thanetian

    Fraction up in the ending stage: 
1.0

    Ending date (Ma):  
56.00

Depositional setting


Depositional pattern:  


Additional Information


Compiler:  

Tao Deng, Yuanqing Wang, Qian Li, et al.