Famennian boundary sections in Vietnam

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187

Two Frasnian/Famennian boundary sections in Vietnam

Ta Hoa Phuong*

College of Science, VNU

Received 02 July 2007

Abstract. Conodont fossils belonging to Frasnian/Famennian (F/F) boundary interval have been
discovered within several geologic sections in Vietnam, including Ngoc Lam, Xom Nha (Quang
Binh), Kang Ka Pass, Nguom Kim Pass (Cao Bang), Noong De Pass (Nghe An), and Si Phai Pass,
Ma Pi Len Pass (Ha Giang). However, the F/F boundary with both the linguiformis and triangularis
conodont zones that bracket the boundary has only been identified at Si Phai Pass and Xom Nha
Mountain.

At Si Phai Pass, F/F boundary within the Dong Van ‐ Nho Que Section has been identified
between beds S12/8 and S12/9, within the lower part of Toc Tat Formation (D3‐C1 tt). This part of
the section is composed of thin bedded, stripped and colorful limestone interbedded with pure,
thin and average bedded grey and pink ‐ grey limestone.

Exposure of F/F boundary is best observed in a cave mouth within Xom Nha Mountain. All
four major F/F boundary conodont zones rhenana, linguiformis, triangularis and crepida have been
found in a grey and dark‐grey, average to thick bedded limestone and clayey limestone sequence
that belongs to the Xom Nha Formation (D3xn). Here the F/F boundary has been determined to lie
between beds 9‐3b and 9‐4a within bed 9 in the Xom Nha Section.

Keywords: Conodont fossils; Linguiformis Zone; Triangularis Zone; Frasnian; Famennian.

1. Introduction*

Typical for all stratigraphic boundaries, at

present fairly broad paleontological criteria

have been used to define the F/F

chronostratigraphic boundary. For each such

boundary, there is a specific fossil lineage, within
a broader group of fossils that has the most
important role in defining the boundary level.

The concept of a Global Boundary Stratotype

Section and Point (GSSP) is now used as the

stratotype for each chronostratigraphic

boundary defining each increment of geologic

_______

*

Tel.: 84‐4‐8544423.

E‐mail:

time. These GSSPs are currently being

established, must follow strict guidelines and

first be approved by the International

Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS).

Finding a GSSP that satisfies the required
paleontological criteria is very difficult because

of sedimentary hiatuses that often happen at

the boundary, resulting in the removal of

critical fossil zones. Such zones may also be

missing, even in the case where sedimentation

is stable, due to a number of factors including
facies changes.

The GSSP established the end of the

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Ta Hoa Phuong / VNU Journal of Science, Earth Sciences 23 (2007) 187‐193 188

due to many important events, and sudden

changes happened in organisms living at that

time. Criteria defining the F/F boundary and

location were approved by the ICS, placing the
boundary within the Upper Coumiac quarry in

the southeastern Montagne Noire region,

Southern France. The GSSP point agreed upon

by the Subcommission on Devonian

Stratigraphy (SDS) corresponds to the first

occurrence of the conodont Palmatolepis

triangularis, within the Palmatolepis lineage, and

defines the base of the Famennian [12, 13].

Conodont zonation places the boundary

immediately following the end of the

linguiformis Zone and at the beginning of the

triangularis Zone [1]. The linguiformis Zone is a
relatively new conodont zone that now replaces
the upper part of the no longer used gigas Zone,
with the rest of the gigas Zone now placed
within the rhenana Zone. As a consequence of

this change, the Upper Devonian for F/F

boundary interval, from the uppermost

Frasnian to the lowermost Famennian includes

rhenana, linguiformis, triangularis, crepida

conodont zones, respectively (Table 1).

Our work on Upper Devonian sections

from Viet Nam has concentrated on the F/F

boundary interval [4, 8‐11]. As a result, abundant

conodont assemblages have been found within

this interval. However, Palmatolepis triangularis,
the critical index species defining the beginning

of the Famennian was commonly found, while

species typically used to define the linguiformis
Zone are relatively rare and only found at a few
localities (Table 1). Perhaps this is a result of
local facies control on the environment in which
these conodonts live.

2. Frasnian/Famennian section interval in Si

Phai Pass

This interval is belonging to the longer

section from Nho Que River to Dong Van

(Dong Van District, Ha Giang Province). It

extends from the public cistern of Si Phai

Village to Si Phai Pass. The lowermost part of
this interval is characterized by grey limestone

interbedded with argillaceous shale, thin to

medium bedded limestone, siliceous limestone

and chert with thickness of about 40 m regarded
by Dang Tran Huyen [2] as the uppermost part

of Si Phai Formation. This part of section

contains numerous tentaculites Homoctenus

and conodonts belonging to varcus, cristatus,

disparilis, and transitans zones. Overlying on

the above mentioned rocks are the first

limestone layers of the Toc Tat Formation that

composed of thin bedded stripped, variegated,

interbedded with medium bedded limestone

(15‐40 cm) greenish and pinkish grey limestone.
Table 1. Conodont zones within the frasnian/famennian boundary interval

from the Dong Van and Xom Nha sections
Stage International standard

conodont zones

Conodont zones discovered
at Dong Van Section

Conodont zones discovered
at Xom Nha Section

rhomboidea rhomboidea

crepida crepida

Famennian

triangularis triangularis triangularis 
linguiformis linguiformis linguiformis

rhenana rhenana

jamieae jamieae

Frasnian

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Ta Hoa Phuong / VNU Journal of Science, Earth Sciences 23 (2007) 187‐193 189

From limestone of the lower part of the Toc

Tat Formation, the collected conodont

assemblage belonging to rhenana and triangularis
zones are as follows [11]:

1) Rhenana Zone containing Palmatolepis

subrecta Miller & Youngquist; Pa. ljaschenkoae
Ovnatanova; Pa. jamieae Ziegler & Sandberg;

Pol. uchtensis Ovnatanova & Kuzmin; Pol.

lodinensis Polsler; Ancyrodella nodosa Ulrich &
Bassler; and Pol. brevilamiformis Ovnatanova.

2) Triangularis Zone containing Palmatolepis

triangularis Sannemann; Pa. superlobata Branson
& Mehl; Pa. clarki Ziegler; Pa. delicatula delicatula

Branson & Mehl; Pa. delicatula protorhomboidea
Sandberg & Ziegler; Pa. cf. regularis Cooper;
and Pa. clarki → Pa. minuta, Pa. minuta minuta
Branson & Mehl.

Fig. 1. The F/F boundary in the Si Phai

Mountain Pass Section.

Recently, in limestone layers that originally

are thought to belong to the upper part of the

rhenana Zone [10, 11], we have found the species

Palmatolepis linguiformis (S12‐6, S12‐7, S12‐8
samples), the diagnostic species for the linguiformis

Zone. As a result, it is now clear that within this
section, the F/F boundary interval includes two
main diagnostic conodont zones, the linguiformis

Zone (highest zone in the Frasnian) and the

triangularis Zone (lowest zone in the
Famennian). These zones cover two continuous
layers (in beds S12‐8 and S12‐9) at the lowest
part of the Toc Tat Formation (Fig. 1, 2).

Fig. 2. Stratigraphic columns of the F/F boundary

interval at Si Phai Pass and Xom Nha sections.

3. Frasnian/Famennian section interval in Xom

Nha Mountain

The section is located just inside the front
entrance of a southwestern facing cave near the
hamlet of Xom Nha (Fig. 3, 4). Carbonate layers,
mainly limestone, at this section belong to the

Xom Nha Formation (D3 xn). Until recently,

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section. A minor but interesting Frasnian‐
Famennian assemblage of stromatoporoids and
conodonts was first discovered here by Nguyen

Huu Hung et al [5]. Therefore, for detailed

study on this boundary interval, numerous

limestone samples were collected bed by bed

for conodont study with the aim to resolve the

stratigraphical sequence of the section.

Fig. 3. The position of Xom Nha Section in the West

of Quang Binh Province.

The stratigraphic sequence and conodont

composition in the limestone from the bottom

to the top of the section (Fig. 4, 6) are as follow:

1. Lowermost beds are composed of grey,

dark grey limestone, thick and medium bedded
(20‐60 cm) with dimish layer surface, 1.45 m

thick. Conodont comes only from the upper

part of beds, belongs to the lower part of the

rhenana Zone, and are numbered as 1 and 2 in
Fig. 3. They include Ancyrodella nodosa Ulrich &

Bassler; A. ioides Ziegler, Ancyrognathus

triangularis Youngquist; Palmatolepis rhenana

rhenana Bishoff; Pa. rhenana nasuta Muller; Pa.

hassi Muller & Muller; Pa. jamieae Ziegler &

Sandberg; and Pa. foliacea Youngquist (X1, X2).
2. Medium‐bedded (20‐75 cm), fine grained

limestone, intercalated with argillaceous

limestone. Abundant conodont occurs from the

rhenana Zone to crepida Zone, and from bottom
to top. They are as follows:

Fig. 4. F/F boundary lying in the middle of bed 9,

Xom Nha Section.

Fig. 5. Cross section of bed 9 indicating the plates
used for conodont analysis. The F/F boundary lies

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Ta Hoa Phuong / VNU Journal of Science, Earth Sciences 23 (2007) 187‐193 191

‐ Palmatolepis rhenana rhenana Bishopff, Pa.

jamieae Ziegler & Sandberg (X3); Ancyrodella

nodosa Ulrich & Bassler, Pa. hassi Muller &
Muller, Pa. boogaardi Klapper & Foster, Pa.

juntinaensis Han, Pa. hassi Muller & Muller,

Ancyrodella nodosa Ulrich & Bassler (X4, X5, X6);

Ancyrodella nodosa Ulrich & Bassler, A. ioides
Ziegler, Palmatolepis boogaardi Klapper & Foster,

Pa. rhenana rhenena Bischopff (X7).

‐ Palmatolepis linguiformis Muller, Pa.

rhenana rhenana Bischoff, Pa. rhenana brevis

Ziegler, Pa. rhenana nasuta Muller, Pa. gigas
Miller & Youngquist, Pa. subrecta Miller &
Youngquist, Pa. hassi Muller & Muller, Pa.

juntinaensis Han, Pa. ederi Ziegler & Sandgerg,

Pa. eureka Ziegler & Sandberg, Palmatolepis

foliacea Youngquist, Ancyrodella nodosa Ulrich &
Bassler, A. ioides Ziegler, Homoctenus sp. (X8);

Pa. rhenana rhenana Bischoff, Pa. rhenana nasuta
Muller, Pa. gigas Miller & Youngquist, Pa.

subrecta Miller & Youngquist, Pa. linguiformis
Muller, Ancyrodella nodosa Ulrich & Bassler,

Palmatolepis triangularis Sannemann (X9).
‐ Palmatolepis triangularis Sannemann, Pa.

subperlobata Branson & Mehl, Icriodus alternatus
Branson & Mehl. (X10, X11, X12).

‐ Palmatolepis triangularis Sannemann, Pa.

subperlobata Branson & Mehl, Pa. delicatula clarki

Ziegler, Pa. delicatula postdelcatula Schulke,

Icriodus alternatus Branson & Mehl (X13, X14).
‐ Palmatolepis triangularis Sannemann, Pa.

triangularis → crepida, Pa. triangularis →

tenuipunctata, Pa. subperlobata Branson & Mehl,

Pa. delicatula platys Ziegler & Sandberg, Pa.

werneri Ji & Ziegler, Pa. delcatula postdelicatula
Schulke, Pa. weddigei Ji & Ziegler, Pa. minuta

loba Helms, Pa. quadrantinodosalobata

Sannemann, Pa. regularis Cooper, Pa. crepida,

Ancyrolepis sp., (X15, X16, X17, X18, X19).

From the above mentioned conodonts and

their location in the section, the following

remarks can be maked for defining F/F

boundary at Xom Nha Mountain:

1. Seven lowermost beds in the section

(from sample X1 to X7, Fig. 4) contain

conodonts belonging to the rhenana Zone. The
conodonts in the first and second beds belong

to the lower rhenana Subzone, while those from

beds 3 to 7 belong to the upper rhenana Subzone.
2. In bed 8, Palmatolepis linguiformis Muller –
principal index species for the linguiformis Zone
was also found together with those found in the

rhenana Zone.

3. In bed 9, conodonts of the both

linguiformis and triangularis zones were found.

Apart from conodonts found in the linguiformis

Zone, the principal index species for the

triangularis Zone ‐ Palmatolepis triangularis was
also found.

4. From bed 10 to bed 14, although fossils
are rare, but Pa. triangularis was found in each
beds.

5. Beds 15 to 19 contain conodonts belonging
to the uppermost part of the triangularis Zone as
well as the whole crepida Zone.

These results indicate that the F/F boundary
at Xom Nha Section is located within bed 9. For
a better definition of the boundary, a block
containing bed 9 (33 cm thick) was cut into 12
small plates (2.5 cm for each) with corresponding

labels from the lowermost to the uppermost

plates: 9‐1a, 9‐1b ,9‐2a, 9‐2b, 9‐3a, 9‐3b, 9‐4a, 9‐
4b, 9‐5a, 9‐5b, 9‐6a, 9‐6b (Fig. 5). These plates

were used for conodont extraction, and in

plates from 9‐1a to 9‐3b, different species of

conodonts belonging to Frasnian were found,

including Pa. hassi Muller & Muller, Ancyrodella

nodosa Ulrich & Bassler, Pa. linguiformis Muller,
etc. However, from plate 9‐4a and upward, the

individuals of Pa. triangularis Sannemann

species were discovered, but the number of

individuals of different conodont species

decreased quickly. In the beds next to bed 9,
along with Pa. triangularis Sannemann, Icriodus
sp. and other conodonts of Famennian age were

also found. Therefore, the F/F boundary has

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Fig. 6. Detailed stratigraphic column of the F/F

boundary interval at Xom Nha Section.

4. Conclusions

The F/F boundary in Vietnam has been

found at 2 places: the Si Phai pass interval within

Dong Van ‐ Nho Que Section (Ha Giang), and

in a cave mouth near Xom Nha (Quang Binh).
At Si Phai Pass, the F/F boundary has been

defined between beds S12/8 and beds S12/9,

which are belonging to the lower part of the
Toc Tat Formation (D3‐C1 tt). This interval is

composed of thin bedded, stripped and

variegated limestone beds interbedded with

pure, thin and medium bedded grey and pink ‐
grey limestone.

The best locality for the F/F boundary is

near Xom Nha in Xom Nha Mountain. The

major conodont zones bounding the boundary,

rhenana, linguiformis, triangularis and crepida

zones, have been found in grey and dark‐grey,

medium to thick bedded limestone and

argillaceous limestone that belong to the Xom
Nha Formation (D3 xn). The F/F boundary is

placed in the middle of bed 9, between plates 9‐

3b and 9‐4a in the section.

Paleontological characteristics and continuity
of the sedimentary environment in the F/F Si

Phai and Xom Nha boundary sections show

that those sections are more close to the

Coumiac stratotype in France [3] than to the

Steinbruch Schmidt hypostratotype in

Germany. In the last section, the change of the

sedimentary environment related to the

Kellwasser event is distinctly pronounced [6].

Acknowledgements

This paper was completed within the

framework of Fundamental Research Program

funded by Vietnam Ministry of Science and

Technology. The author would like to thank his

colleagues Nguyen Huu Hung, Doan Nhat

Truong (Institute of Geology and Mineral

Resources), Pham Huy Thong (Geological

Mapping Division of North Vietnam), Nguyen

Thuy Duong, Nguyen Thanh Lan (College of

Science, VNU) for their cooperation during this

study. The author expresses his deepest

acknowledgement to Prof. B.B. Ellwood

(Louisiana State University, USA) for his help
in editing the English text, and to Prof. Tong

Dzuy Thanh (Vietnam National University,

Hanoi) for improving this paper.

References

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Ta Hoa Phuong / VNU Journal of Science, Earth Sciences 23 (2007) 187‐193 193

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