Abstract
This study presents new discoveries of vascular plants and the trace fossil Dictyodora liebeana (GEINITZ) from the Devonian–Carboniferous Kučaj-Zvonce flysch of the Carpatho-Balkanides and the implications of this fossil association for its sedimentary setting. The occurrence of the described plant debris in a deep-marine environment indicates the presence of hyperpycnites within the siliciclastic turbidites exposed at the Kostadinovica locality. The sedimentological data and the characteristics of the fossil material support the proposed model in which the sediment was at least partially transported by hyperpycnite currents. Furthermore, based on the assessment to similar palaeofloras from comparable formations, the age of the fossil plants can be determined as Early Carboniferous. This can be used as an additional biostratigraphic criterion given the relative abundance of vascular plants in other localities of the Kučaj-Zvonce flysch described in previous studies. The age and the depositional setting of the succession is further better constrained by the first observation of Dictyodora liebeana (GEINITZ) in the Carpatho-Balkanides of Serbia.
Highlights
The Middle Devonian to Early Carboniferous turbiditic siliciclastic succession of the central part of the Carpatho-Balkanides of Serbia is classically interpreted as the Kučaj-Zvonce flysch (MASLAREVIĆ & KRSTIĆ, 1987a)
This study presents new discoveries of vascular plants and the trace fossil Dictyodora liebeana (GEINITZ) from the Devonian–Carboniferous Kučaj-Zvonce flysch of the Carpatho-Balkanides and the implications of this fossil association for its sedimentary setting
This paper presents the first discovery of the trace fossil Dictyodora liebeana (GEINITZ) from the Carpatho-Balkanides of Serbia which is used both as an indicator for a deep-marine depositional environment and to propose an Early Carboniferous age for the succession
Summary
The Middle Devonian to Early Carboniferous turbiditic siliciclastic succession of the central part of the Carpatho-Balkanides of Serbia is classically interpreted as the Kučaj-Zvonce flysch (MASLAREVIĆ & KRSTIĆ, 1987a). The characteristics of hyperpycnites (deposits of hyperpycnal flows) are distinctive both in their sedimentological features (MULDER et al, 2003) and palaeontological content (ZAVALA et al, 2012) These diagnostic criteria were used to indicate the presence of hyperpycnites within the turbidites of the Kučaj-Zvonce flysch. Based on the studied sedimentary features and the position and mode of preservation of the palaeontological material, the Kostadinovica succession is interpreted as an distal part of the turbidite system with the occurrence of hyperpycnites. The detailed discrimination between depositional sequences (turbidites versus hyperpycnites) resulting from their fundamentally different modes of transport was limited by the insufficient quantity of the obtained sedimentological samples This led to the use of fossils as an indicator of hyperpycnal transport. The framework of the Devonian/Carboniferous flysch systems of SE Europe was developed and compared at regional scales (EBNER et al, 2008; VOZÁROVÁ et al, 2009), local studies in the Carpatho-Balkanides could lead to a better understanding of the Kučaj-Zvonce flysch and its position and correlation to other equivalent formations of the Variscides of Europe
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