Abstract The Kasimovian Stage is the lower stage of the Upper Pennsylvanian Subsystem, in which a series of considerable biotic and abiotic events happened and changed the Earth. The Variscan orogeny and the Late Paleozoic Glaciation are two major events that caused geographical isolation of marine faunas and difficulties for a global correlation of biostratigraphy. Regional timescales of the Kasimovian across major continents are reviewed here. A global correlation of the Kasimovian is tentatively established based on a detailed review of major fossil groups such as conodonts, fusulines and some macrofossils. The index taxon for the base of the Kasimovian Stage has not been selected. The conodont species Swadelina subexcelsa , Idiognathodus heckeli , I. turbatus and I. sagittalis have good potential. Among them, I . heckeli is considered the best marker for the base of the Kasimovian Stage because it can mark a bioevent in a wide geographical range, and more importantly, it has a clear taxonomic definition within a phylogenetic lineage. The fusuline Montiparus might be regarded as an auxiliary marker to define the base of the Kasimovian based on its wider distribution. Other proxies, i.e. isotopic dating and strontium, carbon and oxygen isotopic stratigraphy throughout the Kasimovian, are also reviewed. The Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) candidates for the Kasimovian Stage include the Naqing section, South China, the Usolka section, South Urals and the Afanasievo section, Moscow Basin. The Naqing section is regarded as the most appropriate GSSP candidate in terms of its complete sedimentary succession, well-recorded conodont lineages and well-studied bio-, chemo- and cyclo-stratigraphy.

Abstract Late Moscovian–early Gzhelian conodonts occur abundantly in a newly discovered slope section, the Shanglong section, southern Guizhou, South China. The conodont fauna is dominated by P1 elements of Idiognathodus and associated with elements of Swadelina , Streptognathodus and Heckelina . A total of 62 species, including species in open nomenclature, were identified, which are assigned to eight genera. Index conodont species of Middle and Late Pennsylvanian, e.g. I. podolskensis Group, Sw. sp. A, Sw . subexcelsa , Sw . makhlinae , I . heckeli , I . magnificus , I . guizhouensis , H. eudoraensis , I . naraoensis , and H . simulator are all recovered, and their 10 conodont zones are recognized. The richness and abundance of the conodonts throughout the section are analysed. Conodont richness ranges from 1 to 14 and is positively related to conodont abundance (1–379). The composition of conodont elements, i.e. sinistral v. dextral, P1 v. non-P1 and adult v. subadult and juvenile, is presented. The numerical cluster technique is employed to identify four subbiofacies of the slope setting, namely the I . podolskensis , Swadelina , I. swadei–magnificus and Streptognathodus – Heckelina–Idiognathodus subbiofacies.

Although the biota, facies, stacking patterns, sequence stratigraphy, and diagenesis of numerous isolated carbonate platforms have been described and interpreted, trends in the genesis, evolution, and sizes among Phanerozoic examples remain poorly quantified. To provide broad perspectives on Miocene isolated platforms of Central Luconia and Southeast Asia (the focus of this volume), this study summarizes the results of qualitative review of the literature and a quantitative analysis of a relational database of attributes in initiation, growth, character, and demise of more than 850 Phanerozoic isolated platforms. The data and comparisons among parameters reveal numerous trends, including observations that (1) syndepositional tectonics has been interpreted to play an important role in initiation, growth, or demise of more than 44% of isolated platforms; (2) tectonically active platforms are more likely to have higher aspect ratios (more elongate in plan-view and more squat in cross section); (3) stratal geometries are not distributed randomly in time (by era, p = 0.00, and by system, p = 0.04), although aggradational isolated platforms are most common within and among all eras (63% of all platforms); (4) sizes (area, long axis length), thicknesses, and aspect ratios (long axis:short axis; long axis:thickness) of isolated platforms are distinct among Phanerozoic platforms of different eras and systems; (5) although individual platforms steepen as they grow taller, syndepositional relief is not correlated (R 2 = 0.04) with depositional gradient among isolated platforms across the Phanerozoic; (6) causes of isolated platform termination vary nonrandomly through the Phanerozoic (by era, p = 0.00, and by system, p = 0.00). Of all eras, Cenozoic platforms are most likely to drown (68%), in some instances through an association with clastic influx (19%). Subaerial exposure more commonly contributed to the demise of Mesozoic (45%) and Paleozoic (37%) platforms than to that of Cenozoic (13%) platforms. These results, supplemented by more granular comparison of numerous individual platforms, compliment earlier syntheses that focus on the nature of secular changes. The insights suggest that although each platform is unique in many ways, Phanerozoic isolated carbonate platforms include numerous themes that are persistent across ages, sizes, settings, and component biota.