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Shaping Formation

Shaping Fm

Period: 
Neogene

Age Interval: 
Middle Miocene (Langhian to Serravallian), N1 (22)


Province: 
Hubei

Type Locality and Naming

Hubei - NW. Its type section is located at Erlanggang-Shaping section (E110°34′, N32°01′), west of Fangxian County, Hubei Province. It was firstly used by the Thirteenth Geological Survey Team of Hubei Geology Bureau in 1961 in its unpublished manuscript. Lei (1979) redefined this formation (internal communications, unpublished). It was formally published by the Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources of Hubei Province (BGMRH(Hubei)P) (1990).

Synonym: Gao et al. (2014b) treated the Changwang Fm as a synonym of the Shaping Fm.


Lithology and Thickness

Lower part is characterized by medium to thick lamellar medium or giant conglomerates; Middle part consists of yellowish-white marlstones, medium to thick lamellar sandy marlstones, marlstones with conglomerates, and calcareous marlstones with greyish-yellow sandy conglomerates; Upper part is formed by greyish-yellow and yellowish-white thick lamellar marlstones interbedded with medium to thick lamellar conglomerates and mudstones; its top is a series of red massive medium to coarse conglomerates. It contains mammalian fossils, which were produced from its bottom gravels. Its thickness is about 200 m.


Lithology Pattern: 
Continental marl


Relationships and Distribution

Lower contact

In the type section, the Shaping Fm is in unconformable contact with the underlying Eocene Heizhanggou Fm.

Upper contact

In the type section, the Shaping Fm is conformably overlain by the Pliocene Hongta Fm.

Regional extent

This formation is distributed to Panyuhe-Qilihe and Hongta-Sanhaiyan area, southeastern Fangxian Basin, Hubei Province.


GeoJSON

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Fossils

Mammals: Tesselodon fangxianensis, Anchitherium aurelianense, Listriodon robustus, Oioceros? noverca, Zygolophodon nemonguensis. (Yan, 1979).


Age 

Based on the fossil mammals, the age of the Shaping Fm was considered as in Middle Miocene (Yan, 1979). Dong, T., et al. (2019, Neogene Intergr. Strat. Timescale China, Sci. China: Earth Sci, 62) also assign it as regional Astaracian stage (mid-Langhian through earliest Tortonian).

Age Span: 

    Beginning stage: 
Langhian

    Fraction up in beginning stage: 
0.5

    Beginning date (Ma): 
14.91

    Ending stage: 
Tortonian

    Fraction up in the ending stage: 
0.1

    Ending date (Ma):  
11.19

Depositional setting

It is interpreted as a river-lake 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