Comparison of Permian palynological assemblages from the Junggar and Tarim Basins and their phytoprovincial significance

Abstract

Comparison of Permian palynofloras between the Junggar and Tarim Basins has resulted in stratigraphic correlation and new knowledge about the phytoprovincial change of Tarim. The Junggar regime was part of the Subangara area since the early Late Carboniferous through the Permian, whereas the Tarim block belonged to the Euramerican Province prior to the Early Permian (Asselian–Sakmarian). A dramatic change from the Euramerican Province to the Subangara area occurred not later than the onset of the Middle Permian. Palynological data supports the assumptions that the collision between the Junggar block and the Kazakhstan–Siberia blocks was during the late Hercynian (not later than in the Early Carboniferous) and that between Tarim with Junggar was during the Early Permian (possibly prior to the Artinskian). Both regions were basically under the control of a semiarid climate during the Permian but Tarim was somewhat drier than Junggar, with both possibly straddling subtropical to warm temperate latitudes (ca. 25°–35° N.).