West Gondwana Research Articles

First Mesozoic lungfish aestivation burrows of West Gondwana (Late Jurassic of Araripe Basin, northeastern Brazil)

An assemblage of cylindrical trace fossils that occur in the Late Jurassic Missão Velha Formation is presented and interpreted to be the casts of lungfish burrows. These small-sized casts are interpreted as passive siliciclastic sedimentation into abandoned excavations made by lungfish, suggesting their presence in the Missão Velha Formation paleofauna. The identification is based on their morphological similarity to previously identified and extant lungfish burrows. The cross-section of the burrows is very similar to the modern burrow morphology of the African lungfish Protopterus along its full vertical length, indicating lungfish aestivation, and supplemented by spatial clustering reflecting gregarious behavior. The burrow fillings occur in siltstone lithofacies intercalated with cross-stratified fluvial sandstones. These strata were deposited in a continental environment that includes braided fluvial channels, floodplains, and paleosols. Lungfish burrows have been used to infer the presence of seasonal droughts in the geologic past, and the occurrence of lungfish burrows in the Missão Velha Formation adds new insights into the Late Jurassic climate of the Araripe Basin. This climate provided sufficient moisture punctuated by seasonally dry periods, affording a habitat that supported lungfish aestivation behavior.

Genesis of the gneissic core complexes in the Arabian-Nubian Shield and its tectonic implications: A regional overview

Metamorphic core complexes (MCCs) are a domed structures cored by high grade gneiss overlain by low grade supracrustal rocks. They are characterized by some common features such as extensional fabrics, ultra high-grade metamorphic facies, low angle normal fault (detachment fault), strike-slip shear zones surrounded the core complexes and ductile mylontitic shear zone (thrust zone) that separate the overlying low-grade rocks from the lower high-grade rocks. There is a debate about the presence or absence of metamorphic core complexes in the Arabian-Nubian Shield (ANS) especially in its northern part. The gneissic complexes in the ANS are considered as strike-slip core complexes like the Qazaz and Krish Domes whereas, those in the Egyptian Nubian Shield (ENS) are interpreted as antiformal stacks (e.g. Meatiq and Hafafit) formed during thrusting, or core complexes formed during orogen-parallel crustal extension. Some metamorphic core complexes are domes or contain gneiss domes within them, but not all gneiss domes possess the essential elements of a true metamorphic core complex. The most important points that negate the existence of MCCs in the ANS are absence of ultra-high grade metamorphic facies, absence of real low-angle normal faults, not all the gneisses have a domal structures, adjacent syn-extensional basins have fill that is older than the gneissic complexes, and models of ANS core complex exhumation include strike-slip faults with slip senses recently found to be inconsistent with the models. The gneissic complexes in the ANS differ from the Cordilleran-type or Aegean-type metamorphic core complexes. The origin of gneiss domes in the ANS is controversial, and many of them are presumably produced by mechanisms other than horizontal extension. During the oblique convergence of East and West Gondwana, the gneissic complexes in the ENS evolved from pure shear to simple shear-dominated transpression due to oblique convergence between East and West Gondwana along the Mozambique belt.

Trans-Avalonian green–black boundary (early Middle Cambrian): transform fault-driven epeirogeny and onset of 26 m.y. of shallow-marine, black mudstone in Avalonia (Rhode Island–Belgium) and Baltica

The Avalonia microcontinent has diagnostic terminal Ediacaran–Ordovician lithostratigraphy, depositional sequence architecture, and igneous activity that extends for 2000+ km reflecting epeirogeny related to the Avalonian transform fault. Avalonia records an abrupt early Middle Cambrian (late Wuliuan) change from green, purple, or light grey to overlying black, dark grey, and brown facies in platform and off-platform areas (Meguma, North Wales). This change within one trilobite zone marks onset of ca. 26 m.y. of shallow-marine anoxia/strong dysoxia lasting into the Ordovician with Hatch Hill oxygenated mid-water zone (OMZ) onlap onto the shelf. A Bakken model (new, based on the middle Paleozoic Bakken Formation) is applied to shallow-shelf–shoreline organic-rich mud deposition. Erosion of greenish Avalonian depositional sequence (Ads) 7 was followed by Ads 8 tilting, volcanism, debris flows, and bentonite deposition on a cryptic unconformity in SE Newfoundland. The early Middle Cambrian age of the Ads 7–8 boundary is obscured by referring the lower Manuels River Formation and Cristallinium cambriense Zone to the younger Drumian Stage. Ads 8 has thin ashes in coterminous British and North American Avalonia where erosion and subaerial exposure with caliche development preceded onlap of upper Middle or Upper Cambrian Ads 9 black muds and sands. The green–black change emphasizes Avalonian unity; it precludes multiple Avalonian “micro-terranes” or assigning parts of Avalonia to West Gondwana or “Ganderia” (the Little River, Brookville, and Bras d'Or “terranes” are part of the Avalonian marginal platform). Coeval green–black transitions and similar later Cambrian faunas show comparable paleoenvironments in Avalonia and Baltica.

Paleoenvironmental redox evolution of Ediacaran-Cambrian restricted seas in the core of West Gondwana: Insights from trace-metal geochemistry and stratigraphy of the Bambuí Group, east Brazil

The sedimentary evolution of the Bambuí foreland basin system in the interior of West Gondwana is marked by periods of connection and isolation from the global ocean during the late Neoproterozoic and early Paleozoic. To understand the link between these periods and seawater redox conditions, we present an integrated study of trace-metal geochemistry and stratigraphy of the carbonate-siliciclastic rocks from the two lowermost second order transgressive-regressive sequences of the Bambuí Group, east Brazil. The basal 2nd-order sequence trace-metal pattern shows a progressive decrease of mass fractions of Co, Cr, Ni, Cu, Mo, U, V, Zn, and Cd, concomitant with a progressive decrease of Al and Fe contents and Mo/TOC ratios. Among all these elements, only Cd, Mo and U mass fractions seem to be less or not affected by detrital influence, so they can be used as reliable redox proxies for the paleoenvironmental analysis of the studied Bambuí strata. Moreover, normalization to aluminum shows a progressive increase of trace-metal enrichments for Cd and Mo in the order of 0.1–10 times and for U in the order of 1–100 times, accompanied by a progressive increase of organic carbon content upward section. These changes in sedimentary trace-metal patterns provide evidence for the chemical evolution of basinal deep-waters, whose conditions changed progressively from suboxic-anoxic to anoxic-euxinic at the basal transgressive-regressive sequence. We suggest that the paleomarine system represented by the basal Bambuí Group has probably evolved as an intracontinental silled basin recording changes in seawater chemistry associated with redox variations and restricted hydrographic conditions. Sedimentary trace-metal patterns indicate that Bambuí epeiric sea was initially in communication with open ocean followed by the marine restriction during the transgressive and regressive cycles, respectively. This resulted in a long deepwater residence time and chemical evolution of deep watermass as a response to tectonic pulses and consequent sea-level variations during the restricted stage. Under anoxic-euxinic conditions of seawater, trace metals scarcity and micronutrient fixation limitation would have impacted nitrate bioavailability, preventing the evolution of early benthic metazoans in the Bambuí paleomarine system during the late Ediacaran and early Cambrian.

Oldest known West Gondwanan graptolite: Ovetograptus? sp. (lower Agdzian/lowest Wuliuan; basal Middle Cambrian) of the Franconian Forest, Germany, and review of pre-Furongian graptolithoids

The occurrence of a likely graptolite in lowest Wuliuan strata of the Franconian Forest almost certainly records the oldest known graptolithoid hemichordate in West Gondwana and possibly the oldest graptolite presently known. The fossil is a delicate, erect, apparently unbranched rhabdosome with narrow thecae tentatively assigned to the poorly known genus Ovetograptus of the Dithecodendridae. This report includes an overview of pre-Furongian graptolithoids with slight corrections on the stratigraphic position of earlier reported species.

Formation of juvenile continental crust in northern Nubian Shield: New evidence from granitic zircon U-Pb-Hf-O isotopes

The Neoproterozoic Arabian-Nubian Shield (ANS) consists of continental crust formed prior to and during the collision between East and West Gondwana. The Eastern Desert of Egypt (i.e., northern Nubian Shield) constitutes the north-western part of the ANS. Neoproterozoic magmatism in the Eastern Desert region occurred between ∼ 800 Ma and ∼ 550 Ma. Although there is a broad consensus that ∼ 800–650 Ma pre-collisional igneous rocks comprise the main magmatic stage contributing to Eastern Desert crustal evolution, whether this crust is purely of a juvenile composition, or was generated by recycling/reworking of much older continental crust, remains debated. Here, we present new whole-rock geochemical and Sr-Nd isotopic data and an integrated zircon U-Pb-Hf-O-trace element dataset for two granitoids (Um Khariga and Genina Gharbia) from the Eastern Desert. Samples from the Um Khariga granitoids yield zircon U-Pb ages of 746 ± 4 and 753 ± 4 Ma that overlap within error, and the Genina Gharbia granitoids have an age of ∼ 690 Ma, indicating that both granitoids belong to different phases of pre-collisional magmatism. Zircon hafnium isotopic data of both granitoids yield weighted mean εHf(t) values ranging from + 8.01 ± 0.23 to + 10.52 ± 0.13, indicating that both granitoid suites were derived by melting of a juvenile source. SIMS oxygen isotope data for zircon show that the magmatic zircon has mantle-like δ18O values with weighted means ranging from 4.73 ± 0.02 to 5.04 ± 0.08 ‰. Based on previously published zircon U-Pb-Hf-O-trace element data for granitoids and volcanic rocks of the Eastern Desert, plus our new isotopic datasets obtained from the Um Khariga and Genina Gharbia granitoids, we show that the ∼ 800–650 Ma magmatism is characterized by high zircon εHf(t) (+8 to + 15), and mantle-like zircon δ18O values (∼+5‰), implying that the continental crust of the Eastern Desert was either extracted directly from a depleted mantle and/or reworked from accreted juvenile oceanic crust or oceanic arc with no evidence for the input of old continental material. The overall zircon εHf(t) and δ18O evolution trends for the northern Nubian Shield show that juvenile mantle input dominated the early phases (ca. 800–670 Ma) of crustal growth and evolution in this part of the ANS, coinciding with the break-up stage of the supercontinent Rodinia. The involvement of continental crustal recycling only started to play a significant role since the ca. 670 Ma regional collisional event during the early stage of Gondwana assembly.

The first edrioasteroid echinoderm from the lower Cambrian Chengjiang biota of Yunnan Province, China

AbstractUntil now, the earliest fossil echinoderms have been predominantly known from the early Cambrian of Laurentia and West Gondwana. Here, we describe Sprinkleoglobus extenuatus gen. et sp. nov. from the Chengjiang biota (Cambrian Series 2, Stage 3) of Yunnan Province, China. The overall profile of the theca and the morphology of the ambulacra clearly establish it as an edrioasteroid echinoderm. This represents the first discovery of an unequivocal echinoderm from the early part of the Cambrian of South China and is among the oldest records of echinoderms globally. Our material shows that edrioasteroids were diverse and widely distributed from their first occurrence in the fossil record, suggesting an earlier origin for the group. We infer that Sprinkleoglobus and other early echinoderms were adapted for attaching to hard substrates, implying that the so‐called Cambrian substrate revolution was not a strong control on the early evolution of attachment in echinoderms.

U–Pb detrital zircon geochronology and source provenance in the Moroccan Meseta (Variscan belt): A perspective from the Rehamna massif

Metasandstones from early Cambrian to early Carboniferous stratigraphic successions were sampled in the Rehamna massif of the Western Meseta in Morocco. The early Cambrian sample shows a single Paleoproterozoic population at ca. 2 Ga suggesting a local basement source. The Ordovician sample is largely dominated by a Cryogenian-Ediacaran population and minor Paleoproterozoic peaks. The Devonian sample reveals age populations similar to North-West African Cambrian to Devonian age spectra indicating that the southern-derived West Gondwana source essentially pertained up to the Devonian. The two early Carboniferous samples show more heterogeneous zircon age spectra with a marked Ediacaran peak accompanied by Paleoproterozoic and Mesoproterozoic sub-peaks indicating important re-organization of the drainage systems. One sample also shows presence of Upper Devonian to early Carboniferous zircon grains, which suggests local magmatic sources associated to the formation of intracontinental extensional basins. The comparison of detrital zircon spectra with paleogeographic reconstructions indicate that the early Carboniferous change in detrital zircon sources can be interpreted in the framework of the opening of the Paleotethys ocean with coeval erosion of orogenic topographies linked to the emplacement of a Mid-Variscan Allochthon, and/or collision of an Avalonian indenter to the north.

Terrestrial impact craters track the voyage of lithospheric plates

The paradigm of plate tectonics has aided in the identification of the journey of continents on the globe, their assembly into supercontinents, disruption, and re‐assembly. Here, we use meteorite impact craters as proxies for tracking the voyage of lithospheric plates. Employing the provisions in GPlates, an interactive geographic information system‐based plate tectonic reconstruction model, we were able to identify the palaeo‐position, and velocity of the 174 terrestrial impact craters, formed after 1,100 Ma, across the globe. These parameters of craters were evaluated for independent tectonic plates and were correlated with global tectonic events. For example, the similarity in the velocity of Beaverhead (900 Ma) and Holleford (550 Ma) craters since 550 Ma is traced to the connection between the Eastern Basin and North America Craton commencing 1,100 Ma, and through the South Basin and Range. Likewise, the drastic reduction in the velocity of Spider Crater (700 Ma) in Australia after 600 Ma can be attributed to the subduction between east and west Gondwana. The accelerated motion of the Indian Plate at 63 Ma, when the lithosphere was hovering over the Réunion hotspot, is also explained. With the advent of more improved plate tectonic models and the discovery of more impact craters, improvised interpretations will be possible.

Protracted (>60 Myrs) thermal evolution of a Neoproterozoic metasedimentary sequence from eastern Borborema Province (NE Brazil): Thermal and rheological implications for orogenic development

The thermal evolution of orogenic belts is quite varied. While some show rapid cooling, others record high temperatures for tens of millions of years. Here, we report the latter situation based on U-Pb zircon and monazite dating of paragneiss and micaschist from the Surubim Complex (eastern Borborema Province, NE Brazil). The Borborema Province and its African counterparts (Cameroon belt and Nigerian Shield) formed during amalgamation of West Gondwana in the Late Neoproterozoic (Brasiliano/Pan-African Orogeny). The location of the Surubim Complex in the central core of this large orogenic system offers the opportunity to study tectonic processes at work in the inner regions of ancient orogens. Basement-involved thick-skinned tectonics, regional low-angle foliation related to NW-directed thrusting, transcurrent shear zones and intrusion of granitic plutons characterize the Brasiliano Orogeny in the study area. Zircon data indicate provenance of the Surubim Complex mainly from proximal sources, predominantly 2.2–2.0 Ga-old basement rocks (including an orthogneiss here dated at 2132 ± 11 Ma), and from Neoproterozoic extension-related granitoids. The ages of the youngest detrital zircon grains range from 690 to 650 Ma. The weighted mean age (647 ± 4 Ma) of low Th/U zircon overgrowths in one sample is tentatively interpreted as dating syn-extensional metamorphism given the small age difference to the youngest detrital zircon population. A time lag of c. 17 Myrs, between 647 Ma and 630 Ma, suggests a temperature drop due to contractional deformation. The ages of the oldest magmatic grains from a leucosome sample and of monazite grains from a paragneiss sample, together with data from the literature, show that temperatures high enough to promote local anatexis during development of the regional low-angle foliation were reached around 630 Ma. Afterwards, as indicated by zircon and monazite growth and/or recrystallization, temperatures remained relatively elevated until the transition to the transcurrent regime, at c. 590 Ma, and persisted so up to c. 563 Ma. The results outline a protracted thermal history spanning more than 60 Myrs. This evolution is comparable to the tectonothermal evolution of long-lived hot orogens, where persistence of high temperature conditions for a long time has been related to the formation of orogenic plateaus.

Provenance and depositional setting of the Buem structural unit (Ghana): Implications for the paleogeographic reconstruction of the West African and Amazonian cratons in Rodinia

We present new field, petrological and geochemical data, combined with U-Pb zircon ages and Lu-Hf isotope compositions for the sandstones of the Neoproterozoic Buem structural unit (BSU) of the Dahomeyide belt, and whole-rock geochemical data of BSU shale to investigate their provenance and depositional setting. The BSU contains siliciclastic sequences and fragments of oceanic lithosphere (pillow lavas, gabbro, and peridotite) that have archived the entire evolution of the Ediacaran West Gondwana Orogen (WGO), from early accretion to final amalgamation of the West African Craton (WAC) with the Benino-Nigerian Shield. Three broad groups of samples exist within the BSU in Ghana: those with dominantly older age fractions of 2300 – 1800 Ma, represented by samples from the base of the BSU; those with prominent 1700 – 1100 Ma zircons, occupying the middle part of the BSU; and those with significant 1000 – 970 Ma age fractions, forming the uppermost part of the BSU. Results from this study, together with published data on the BSU, and adjacent Togo structural unit and Voltaian Supergroup, reveal two main sedimentary sequences in the Dahomeyide belt, i.e., passive margin and foreland basin sequences with three potential provenances: Amazonian Craton, Benino-Nigerian Shield, ± WAC. This interpretation resembles that for the sedimentary rocks of the Borborema Province, NE Brazil, which implies similar evolution along the WGO. Thus, a long, >2500 km passive margin basin developed at 1000 – 700 Ma, which was subsequently inverted during the Braziliano/Pan-African plate convergence and collision, and the concomitant formation of the foreland basin during the assembly of the supercontinent Gondwana. Because a greater portion of the detritus in the BSU is probably from the Amazonian Craton, we propose that the WAC and the Amazonian Craton adjoined each other from the Paleoproterozoic onward within the supercontinents Rodinia and Gondwana, until the opening of the Atlantic Ocean.

The first dinosaur from the Jurassic Aliança Formation of northeastern Brazil, west Gondwana: a basal Neotheropoda and its age and paleobiogeographical significance

In South America, little is known about Jurassic dinosaurs, contrasting with the extensive record of the late Triassic and Cretaceous, mainly in a vast area corresponding to the northern half of South America (west Gondwana). Herein, we describe for the first time a theropod dinosaur recovered from the Aliança Formation of the Jatobá Basin, represented by a caudal vertebra. Compared with theropods from the Jurassic, the specimen from Brazil is closer related to the basal neotheropods such as Dilophosaurus wetherilli, from the early Jurassic of North America. Basal neotheropods exhibited a worldwide distribution during the early Jurassic period, as suggested by the record in North America, South Africa and Antarctica. Thus, the new record from the Brazil suggests the survival of the basal lineage represented by Dilophosaurus and close relatives during the Middle-Late Jurassic. The new fossil occurrence described here also enables a worldwide correlation, reinforcing a Jurassic rather than a Late Triassic age for the Aliança Formation, for which it is provisionally assigned a Middle-Late Jurassic age.

Grasses through space and time: An overview of the biogeographical and macroevolutionary history of Poaceae

AbstractGrasses are widespread on every continent and are found in all terrestrial biomes. The dominance and spread of grasses and grassland ecosystems have led to significant changes in Earth′s climate, geochemistry, and biodiversity. The abundance of DNA sequence data, particularly chloroplast sequences, and advances in placing grass fossils within the family allows for a reappraisal of the family′s origins, timing, and geographic spread and the factors that have promoted diversification. We reconstructed a time‐calibrated grass phylogeny and inferred ancestral areas using chloroplast DNA sequences from nearly 90% of extant grass genera. With a few notable exceptions, the phylogeny is well resolved to the subtribal level. The family began to diversify in the Early–Late Cretaceous (crown age of 98.54 Ma) on West Gondwana before the complete split between Africa and South America. Vicariance from the splitting of Gondwana may be responsible for the initial divergence in the family. However, Africa clearly served as the center of origin for much of the early diversification of the family. With this phylogenetic, temporal, and spatial framework, we review the evolution and biogeography of the family with the aim to facilitate the testing of biogeographical hypotheses about its origins, evolutionary tempo, and diversification. The current classification of the family is discussed with an extensive review of the extant diversity and distribution of species, molecular and morphological evidence supporting the current classification scheme, and the evidence informing our understanding of the biogeographical history of the family.

Neoproterozoic pre-collisional events recorded in the Sergipano belt, Southern Borborema Province, West Gondwana

ABSTRACT The Canindé Domain is crucial for understanding the pre-collisional events in Sergipano Belt, Borborema Province, especially during the Late Stenian/Early Tonian (740–680 Ma). We present thermobarometric, geochronology, and isotopic studies of the metavolcanosedimentary rocks of the Novo Gosto unit. The calculated metamorphic conditions resulted in a range of T: 600–740°C and P: 3.5–10.0 kbar for non-mylonitic amphibolites and values of T: 636–808°C and P: 7.0–12.0 kbar for mylonites, both of amphibolite facies. The minimum metamorphic conditions imprint in these rocks are T: 390°C and P: 2.5 kbar, indicating retrometamorphism in greenschist facies. The probable age of the peak metamorphic event was obtained in zircon rims from a quartzite at 692 ± 8.5 Ma. U-Pb detrital zircon and Nd model ages of the metasedimentary rocks point out Early Tonian as primary source rocks. Subordinate contributions of Mesoproterozoic, Paleoproterozoic, and Neoarchean sources were also recognized. These primary sources are related to Cariris Velhos event rocks, whereas the subordinate sources are from the Pernambuco-Alagoas superterrane. Early Tonian and Late Stenian ages were recognized for the first time in the Canindé Domain, with U-Pb zircon ages of 1005 ± 3 and 989 ± 6 Ma in amphibolites and mylonitized granites, mostly outcropping at the southwestern limit of the area. New ages were also obtained in the Novo Gosto surrounding intrusions: Canindé Layered Gabbroic Intrusion (~718 Ma), Garrote (~715 Ma) and Curralinho/Boa Esperança (~708 Ma) metagranites, and Gentileza metavolcanic rock (~700), which integrate the early pre-collisional magmatism of the Sergipano Belt (~740-680 Ma). Finally, U-Pb zircon ages were obtained in the Poço Redondo Domain, potential source area of the Novo Gosto metasedimentary rocks, resulting in ages of 957 ± 11 and 988 ± 15 Ma. The new data bring perspective to future correlations with adjacent belts and the understanding of the structuration of West Gondwana during the Brasiliano-Pan-African Orogeny.

Implications of the dominant LP–HT deformation in the Guanhães Block for the Araçuaí West-Congo Orogen evolution

The Araçuaí-West Congo Orogen is the result of convergence between the São Francisco and Congo cratons during the assembly of West Gondwana. Within this orogen, the Araçuaí Belt in SE Brazil reflects the western external domain. The Araçuaí Belt is characterized by major east-dipping structures and high- to medium pressure metamorphic rocks developed during crustal thickening at ca. 585–560 Ma and are juxtaposed along crustal-scale structures to the crystalline core of the orogen.The Guanhães Block in the southern Araçuaí Belt is characterized by higher metamorphic grade and dominantly shallowly west-dipping structures compared to the neighboring tectonic domains. While several studies have focused on the evolution of the axial crystalline core of the Araçuaí orogen and on the early collisional stages in the Araçuaí Belt, little attention has been given to the structural and metamorphic history of the poorly studied Guanhães Block.The supracrustal rocks in the central Guanhães Block record two tectono-metamorphic stages: D2/M2 and D3 /M3, with potential D1/M1 relicts rarely preserved within D2/M2 low-strain domains. The D2/M2 overprinting stage is associated with the development of a dominant, shallow axial planar foliation (S2) of isoclinal F2 folds under low-pressure and high-temperature (LP–HT) conditions (ca. 6 kbar and 750 °C). During this D2/M2 stage continuous segregation of syn-kinematic partial melting and generation of granitoid rocks occurred. The 530 Ma, syn- D2/M2 granitoid has negative εHf(i) at ca. −32 which indicates the source of magma from melting of older, isotopically evolved, Archaean or Paleoproterozoic crust.U–Pb geochronology on monazite, titanite and hydrothermal zircon constrain the retrograde D3/M3 event at ca. 510 Ma. The Guanhães Block uniquely records dominant deformation under LP–HT metamorphic conditions during the late-orogenic stages and its evolution could have important tectonic implications for the concurrent models suggested for the late Neoproterozoic Araçuaí-West Congo Orogen.

Paleomagnetism of the Main South American Precambrian Cratons

Here, we discuss the role of the main South American cratonic units in the Columbia and Rodinia supercontinents, and Gondwana megacontinent. According to paleomagnetic and geological data Amazonia and West Africa were linked to Baltica, Laurentia and Siberia forming West Columbia at ca. 1.78-1.75 Ga. The 1.78 to 1.42 Ga paleomagnetic data for Amazonia, Baltica and Laurentia suggest either, that West Columbia preserved its integrity, at least, up to 1.42 Ga, or Amazonia/West Africa broke-up from West Columbia at some time between 1.53 and 1.42 Ga.. On the other hand, the Congo/São Francisco, North China, Rio de la Plata, India and proto-Australia formed the East Columbia at ca. 1.78 Ga. However, the presently available Paleo to Mesoproterozoic paleomagnetic data for these cratonic blocks suggest that East Columbia was short-lived. At 1.1 Ga ago, Amazonia/West Africa, Congo-São Francisco, Kalahari and India probably formed a megacontinent that later collided with Laurentia and Baltica forming Rodinia at ca. 1.0 Ga. Most probably, Rodinia broke-up at ca. 750 Ma, when Congo/São Francisco, Kalahari and other smaller blocks rotated ca. 90° counterclockwise, closing the Brasiliano/Clymene ocean and docked against Amazonia/West Africa and Rio de la Plata at ca. 600-570 Ma ago forming West Gondwana.

Deformation, thermochronology and tectonic significance of the crustal-scale Cubatão Shear Zone, Ribeira Belt, Brazil

Crustal-scale shear zones are key structures in orogenic belts linked to the assembly of West Gondwana. The Cubatão Shear Zone (CSZ) represents a significant segment of a crustal-scale transcurrent shear zone system that cuts Paleoproterozoic to Neoproterozoic units in the Ribeira Belt (SE Brazil). Despite its tectonic importance, the relationship between transcurrent deformation and orogenesis is still controversial. This work aims to understand this relationship by integrating the transcurrent deformation history of the CSZ with regional orogenic processes through structural analyses, phase-equilibria modelling, and zircon and apatite U-Pb-REE analyses. The results indicate that the CSZ developed within a transpressional setting with a dominant subhorizontal stretching lineation at medium-temperature conditions of 460–520 °C and 4.5–9.5 kbar, consistent with quartz recrystallisation microstructures indicative of subgrain rotation recrystallisation. Igneous-type apatite from the mylonites of the CSZ record ages of ca. 610–570 Ma, which are interpreted as reset ages due to ductile deformation at medium-temperature conditions. Zircon U-Pb geochronology indicates that mylonites are sourced from the Juquiá Granite and the Atuba Complex. The CSZ activity is coeval with the main period of activity of other ductile shear zones from the Ribeira Belt, as indicated by available geochronological data. This age interval coincides with the main period of other regional shear zones activity, voluminous granitic magmatism, regional metamorphism and convergence of the cratons surrounding the Ribeira Belt, indicating active participation of the transcurrent shear zones in the orogenic processes that built up West Gondwana.

Lower Aeronian (Llandovery, Silurian) graptolites of the generaRastritesandStavrites: systematics, biostratigraphy and palaeobiogeography

AbstractThe lower Aeronian graptolite speciesRastrites longispinus longispinusPerner,R. approximatusPerner,R. peregrinusBarrande,R.? norilskensisObut & Sobolevskaya, andStavrites rossicusObut & Sobolevskaya have been revised using material from China, the Czech Republic, Siberia, Canada and Spain, together with published data.Rastrites longispinus chenxuisubsp. nov. is recognized as a new biogeographical subspecies known only from China and Canada.Rastrites guizhouensisMuet al.,R. confertusChen & Lin andStavrites laticellatusObut & Sobolevskaya, are all considered to be junior synonyms ofS. rossicus.Rastrites geinitziiTörnquist is regarded as a junior synonym ofR. longispinus longispinus; andR. orbitusChurkin & Carter andR. hemigyratusChen & Lin are considered to be junior synonyms ofR.? norilskensis. We propose that a distinctR.? norilskensisBiozone can be recognized between a lowest AeronianDemirastrites triangulatusorD. triangulatus – D. pectinatusBiozone in Siberia and northern Canada (possibly in South China, with future work) and the overlyingLituigraptus convolutusBiozone. Cluster analysis of the palaeogeographical distribution of species ofRastritesandStavritessupports the hypothesis that two graptolite palaeobiographical provinces can be defined in the early Aeronian: a low‐latitude Circumequatorial Province including northern Laurentia, South China, Siberia and peri‐Siberian terranes; and a largely mid‐latitude Rheic – West Gondwana Province comprising Avalonian Britain, the Baltic area, central Europe, western and southern Europe, and cratonic North Africa. None of our studied taxa exhibits a cosmopolitan distribution. Our systematic revision has a significant impact on our palaeogeographical interpretations.

Taxonomic revision of conodonts of Piauí formation, Parnaíba basin, updating to late Bashkirian age and biostratigraphic – Paleoecologic correlation with the Itaituba formation, Amazonas basin

This study analyzed conodont elements retrieved from Mocambo Carbonates, marine portion of the Piauí Formation, Parnaíba Basin, Northeast Brazil, West Gondwana. This manuscript aims i) to update the conodont fauna and, ii) to refine the biostratigraphic and paleoecological data of the marine portion, according to new conodont occurrences. The description of the conodont species Diplognathodus orphanus, Idiognathodus incurvus and Adetognathus lautus, suggests a late Bashkirian age. In addition, the presence of adults and juvenile Diplognathodus orphanus and Idiognathodus incurvus, as well as fern sporangia, ostracods, benthic foraminifers, and fish teeth, indicate a very shallow marine platform, of neritic tidal facies. The Mocambo Carbonates are traditionally recognized as Pennsylvanian in age, and thus, with our conodont contribution is refined to late Bashkirian. Paleoecologically, this sequence is interpreted as very shallow marine facies. We also correlate the marine carbonate sequence of the Piauí Formation, Parnaíba Basin, with the marine shallow waters from the Itaituba Formation, Amazonas Basin. This is well-positioned with international biozones from North America, China and Europe, allowing the correlation of the Piauí marine portion with the transgressive-regressive epicontinental Itaituba-Piauí Sea in Northwest South America, Western Gondwana, during the Late Paleozoic.

Strain Partitioning along Terrane Bounding and Intraterrane Shear Zones: Constraints from a Long-Lived Transpressional System in West Gondwana (Ribeira Belt, Brazil)

Abstract Shear zones are zones of localized high strain accommodating differential motion in the lithosphere and impacting the crustal rheology and deformational history of orogenic belts. Although terrane bounding shear zones are widely studied, intraterrane shear zones and their tectonic significance, especially in association with supercontinent assembly, is a largely unexplored topic. The Ribeira Belt (SE Brazil), a Neoproterozoic-Cambrian orogenic belt from West Gondwana, is dissected by a crustal-scale NE-trending transcurrent shear zone system that juxtaposes composite terranes. Despite its extensive coverage and complexity, this shear zone system remains poorly investigated. In this paper, we explore the thermal and deformational regimes, and timing of ductile shearing using a multiscale approach combining structural analysis derived from remote sensing and field-based structural data, microstructures, quantitative structural analysis, and multimineral U–Pb geochronology (zircon, titanite, monazite, and xenotime). Our data, combined with previously published data, indicate a transitional northeastward increase in metamorphic conditions from lower greenschist to granulite facies conditions (from 250–300 to 750–800°C), reflecting the different crustal levels that are exposed. Vorticity and finite strain data indicate a complex strain regime with varied contributions of pure and simple shear and oblate-shape ellipsoids in strike-slip shear zones and prolate-shaped ellipsoids in dip-slip reverse shear zones. The strain set suggests that all shear zones were developed under subsimple shear deformational regimes involving thrusting and folding followed by wrench tectonics. The pure shear component of deformation was accommodated in folded domains between shear zones. Geochronological data suggest intermittent ductile shear zone activations from ca. 900–830 to 530 Ma, partially coeval with at least two major episodes of terrane accretion at 850–760 Ma and 610–585 Ma. The spatial and temporal record of shear zones within the Ribeira Belt indicates that some relate to assembly of the belt and represent either terrane bounding structures (e.g., Itapirapuã shear zone) or intraterrane structures (e.g., Ribeira, Figueira, and Agudos Grandes shear zones), whereas others are terrane bounding, postcollisional shear zones (e.g., Taxaquara shear zone) reactivated in an intracontinental setting (560–535 Ma).