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Woma Formation

Woma Fm


Period: 
Neogene

Age Interval: 
Late Miocene (Messinian), N1 , (9c)


Province: 
Xizang (Tibet)

Type Locality and Naming

The type section is located west of the Woma village (E85°18′, N28°46′, see Wang et al., 2006), Gyirong County, Xizang (Tibet) Autonomous Region. Huang and Ji (1979) firstly named this formation. BGMRXTAR (1993) collected this formation, but BGMRXTAR (1997) proposed abandoning the Woma Fm because they considered it can be correlated to part of the Zhada Gr (Zhada Fm), which has type-section much further east (80°E).


Lithology and Thickness

It is divided into three parts: Lower part is formed by yellow and grey siltstones in the upper part, the steel-grey mudstone in the lower part, and the grey siltstones in the bottom part yielding Hipparion Fauna; Middle part consists of grey gravels, yellow sandstones, and grey sandstones, containing laminar sandstones and dark grey sandy mudstones; Upper part is characterized by light yellow mudstones interbedded with a small amount of purple mudstones. This formation contains abundant fossil mammals, mollusks, and sporopollens. Its thickness is about 450 m.


Lithology Pattern: 
Siltstone


Relationships and Distribution

Lower contact

In the type section, the Woma Fm unconformably contacts with the underlying Upper Jurassic Menkadun Fm.

Upper contact

In the type section, the Woma Fm unconformably contacts with the overlying Lower Pleistocene “Gongba Gravels”.

Regional extent

The formation is restricted in the Gyirong Basin.


GeoJSON

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Fossils

(Huang and Ji, 1979) Mammals: Hipparion gyirongensis, Chilotherium xizangensis, Metacervulus capreolinus, Palaeotragus microdon, Gazella gaudryi, Bellatona gyirongensis, Crocuta sp.. Sporopollens: Loropetalum, Quercus, Cedrus, Palmae.


Age 

The magnetic dating of the Woma Fm is in range of 3.2~7.2 Ma and the Hipparion Fauna layer is in age of about 7.0 Ma (Yue et al., 2004).

Age Span: 

    Beginning stage: 
Messinian

    Fraction up in beginning stage: 
0.0

    Beginning date (Ma): 
7.25

    Ending stage: 
Messinian

    Fraction up in the ending stage: 
1.0

    Ending date (Ma):  
5.34

Depositional setting

It is interpreted as a basin 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