Shicaohe Fm

Central-westernmost Hubei. In 1962, it was named by Jiang Tao and Hua Meichun as Shicaohe Group and then it was renamed as Shicaohe Fm by Hubei Comprehensive Party of Geology in 1965. The type section is at Shicao River Bank, Honghua District, Shennongjia Forest District, Hubei Province. Upper-middle formation (9 of 11 in Lexicon) of Shennongjia Gr.

Synonym: （石槽河组） , Wuziping Gr (upper part), Gaoqiaohe Fm are thought to be synonyms of the formation.

The Shicaohe Fm is dominated by purple-red and grey dolomite and siliceous dolomite intercalated with minor dolomitic clastic rock. Lower part is of purple-red and grey dolomite and grey, purple-red banded dolomite with dolomite, sandy conglomerate, clastic-dolomite, dolomitic siltstone, argillaceous dolomite and stromatolite dolomite. Middle part consists of flesh-pink, grey-purple medium- to thin-bedded argillaceous banded micritic dolomite, grey-white massive fine-crystalline dolomite, dark-grey laminated micritic dolomite, greyish medium-thick-bedded, massive siliceous banded fine-crystalline dolomite, sandwiched with flesh-pink stromatolite-reef dolomite. Upper part is purple-red thin- to medium-thick-bedded fine-crystalline dolomite, intercalated with grey thin-bedded micritic dolomite and black-grey, siliceous dolomitic siltstone, sandwiched with carbonaceous dolomitic siltstone. Its thickness varies from 690 to 1650 m.

The main stromatolites of the formation are Chihsienella cf. chihsienensis, Stratifera undata, Cryptozoon giganilam, Tielingella tielingensis, Colonnella laminata, C. shicaoheensis?, Conophyton f., Scopulimorpha regularis etc. The intercalating bands contain also microplants, Trematosphaeridium holtedahlii, T. minutum.