Middle Permian Cephalopods from Central Peninsular Malaysia: Implications for Faunal Migration Through the Southern Tethys

Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 19 *2001) 805±814 www.elsevier.com/locate/jseaes

Middle Permian cephalopods from central Peninsular Malaysia: implications for faunal migration through the southern Tethys

Masatoshi Sonea,*, Mohd Shafeea Lemanb, Masayuki Ehiroc

aInstitute for Environment and Development LESTARI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia bSchool of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resources, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia cInstitute of Geology and Paleontology, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8578, Japan Received 28 September 2000; revised 9 January 2001; accepted 24 January 2001

Abstract A Wordian *Middle Permian) cephalopod fauna consisting of four ammonoid species, Tauroceras aff. scrobiculatum *Gemmellaro), Agathiceras sp., Bamyaniceras orientale n. sp. and Pronoritidae gen. and sp. indet., and two nautiloid species, Tainoceras sp. and Orthocerida fam. indet., were recovered from the Bera South area, southern Pahang, Peninsular Malaysia. The outcrop represents the southernmost extent of the Bera Formation. Bamyaniceras and Tainoceras are recorded in Malaysia for the ®rst time. The presence of T. aff. scrobiculatum suggests a regional correlation with an ammonoid-bearing bed of Sungai Cheroh, western Pahang, and permits global correlations with strata of northeastern Iraq, northern Oman and Sicily *Italy). A possible eastwards faunal migration through the southern Tethys is suggested. q 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Middle Permian cephalopods; Southern Tethys; Peninsular Malaysia

1. Introduction 2. Regional geology and stratigraphy

Cephalopods are uncommon in Permian strata of Malay- The regional geology of the Bera District was known sia, since only some eleven species have been recorded in previously from only two brief reports by Cook and ®ve reports *Gobbett, 1973, p. 77; Hashim, 1985; Lee, 1980; Suntharalingam *1970), MacDonald *1970). Leman et al. Leonova et al., 1999; Sone and Leman, 2000). In this study, *2000) recently proposed the Bera Formation for Permian six species of Permian cephalopods Ð four ammonoids and strata mostly exposed in road-cuts of the area. It is ¯anked two nautiloids Ð were recovered from a clastic rock stra- on the west by the Triassic Semantan Formation and on the tum on a road-cut of the Bera South *Bera Selatan as a local east by the possible Jurassic±Cretaceous Bertangga Sand- name) area, southern Pahang. This is the richest cephalopod stone *Fig. 1). Boundaries to these Mesozoic formations are faunule in Peninsular Malaysia, and occurs in the Bera not known to be exposed, but are most probably marked by Formation of Leman et al. *2000). faults, since the area is associated with a north±south trend- The main purpose of this paper is to determine the geolo- ing major fault zone as described by Tjia *2001). gical age of the cephalopod horizon based on correlations. A Two Middle Permian faunas from the Bera Formation Permian time-scale compiled by the International Commis- have been studied in detail; they are the low diverse fauna sion on Stratigraphy, Subcommission on Permian Stratigra- of possible early Guadalupian *Roadian or Wordian) phy *Jin et al., 1997; Wardlaw, 1999) is used in this paper, brachiopods and ammonoids in the Felda Mayam outcrop that is, the Middle Permian corresponds to the Guadalupian which is the northernmost extent of the formation *Sone and Series of the North American standard. All described cepha- Leman, 2000), and the moderately diverse brachiopod fauna lopod specimens are stored at the National University of of early Capitanian age in the Sungai Bera section *Sone et Malaysia *Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia) with registra- al., 2001). Cook and Suntharalingam *1970) reported the tion numbers pre®xed UKM-F. occurrence of a fusulinid, Parafusulina sp., from a limestone near Tasik Bera. This limestone is not found today, but implies that a carbonate facies is intercalated to, or an * Corresponding author. allochthonous limestone block is present in, sediments of E-mail address: [email protected] *M. Sone). the Bera Formation. A possible stratigraphy of the Bera

1367-9120/01/$ - see front matter q 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII: S1367-9120*01)00017-7 806 M. Sone et al. / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 19 2001) 805±814 tional environment. The lithology consists of shale, siltstone and ®ne sandstone, which become slightly metamorphosed to slate towards the southeast. Surface sediment is bleached and is soft due to weathering. The fossil occurrences are limited to a 3 m thick bed in the middle of a sequence. The fossil bed is made up of thickly bedded siltstone, which is underlain by regularly laminated siliceous mudstone. They are overlain and underlain by ®ne sandstone beds, which are similarly white but slightly tuffaceous *Fig. 3). The fossils are dominated by brachiopods and cephalopods *mostly ammonoids), and include more rare trilobites, bivalves and gastropods. An equivalent fossil bed crops out on the opposite side of the road, and yields similar fossils.

3. Faunal composition

The Bera South cephalopod fauna is dominated by more than 30 individuals of Agathiceras Gemmellaro *Table 1). This is a cosmopolitan genus, and is one of the most common ammonoids in the Early±Middle Permian rocks. Its stratigraphic range is well established to be Moscovian *lower Upper Carboniferous) through Wordian, with the acme zone between the Roadian and Wordian *Glenister Fig. 1. Bera District and the possible distribution of the Bera Formation et al, 1990; Zhou et al., 1999). with locations of the Bera South outcrop, the Felda Mayam outcrop and the A key species of the Bera South assemblage is Tauro- Sungai Bera section *base map modi®ed from Leman et al., 2000). ceras aff. scrobiculatum *Gemmellaro). T. scrobiculatum, the type species of the genus, was reported originally from Formation, with respect to the age of the Bera South fauna, the classic Sosio limestone *Wordian) of Sicily, Italy will be proposed later. *Gemmellaro, 1887). It is relatively rare amongst many The present fossil locality, namely the `Bera South well-known Sosio ammonoids. The same species was outcrop' *0380400100N, 10284100600E) *Fig. 1), is 26.7 km reported by Blendinger et al. *1992) from limestones of south of Felda Sebertak junction along Bera Road, and the Rustaq and Ba'ad areas in northern Oman. Closely east of Tasik Bera, the largest natural lake in the peninsula. comparable forms were recorded by Lee *1980) as Popano- It corresponds to Locality BF1 of Leman et al. *2000), and ceras cf. scrobiculatum in western Pahang of Malaysia, and represents the southernmost extent of the Bera Formation. by VasÏÂõcÏek and Kullmann *1988) as T. cf. scrobiculatum in The outcrop sequence is about 90 m thick in the ®eld *Fig. Kurdistan of northeastern Iraq. The ammonoid faunas of 2) and is overturned, as indicated by a U-shaped burrow of a Oman and Iraq display strong af®nities with that of the trace fossil that possibly suggests a shallow water deposi- Sosio limestone *Blendinger et al., 1992; VasÏÂõcÏek and Kull- mann, 1988). Elsewhere, species of Tauroceras are recognised in southern Tunisia, Crimea and the Pamirs *C.I.S), Jilin and Xizang *China), West Texas *USA) and Coahuila *Mexico). Previously reported Wordian species of Popano- ceras are now thought to belong to Tauroceras *see Glen- ister and Furnish, 1988). The stratigraphic occurrence of Tauroceras is considered to be limited to the Wordian *Zhou et al., 1999). Bamyaniceras orientale n. sp. is the ®rst con®rmed occurrence of the genus in Peninsular Malaysia, after Sone and Leman *2000) reported `Bamyaniceras or Propinacoceras' sp. from the Felda Mayam outcrop. Bamyaniceras is also of widespread occurrence, speci®cally in southwestern North America, Afghanistan, the Pamirs, Timor, Western Austra- lia and possibly in Sicily and South China. The genus seems Fig. 2. Bera South road-cut outcrop. rather common in the southern part of the Tethys. Leonova M. Sone et al. / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 19 2001) 805±814 807

Table 1 Cephalopod species from the Bera South outcrop

Species No. of specimens

Ammonoids Agathiceras sp. 30 1 Tauroceras aff. scrobiculatum 5 *Gemmellaro, 1887) Bamyaniceras orientale n. sp. 9 Pronoritidae gen. and sp. indet. 4 Nautiloids Tainoceras sp. 2 Orthocerida fam. indet. 2

depression is present on the ¯ank of Specimens UKM- F402and 403. The suture is not well preserved; three subequal lateral saddles and corresponding lateral lobes are only faintly recognisable in some specimens *e.g. UKM-F404). Remarks. Lee *1980, p. 68, pl. 3, ®gs. 13±15) reported Agathiceras suessi, the type species of the genus, from Sungai Cheroh, western Pahang. His material, however, was not described in suf®cient detail to Fig. 3. Stratigraphic section of the Bera South outcrop in the Bera Forma- tion. permit con®rmation of the speci®c assignment. Species of Agathiceras generally possess considerably similar features, as previously discussed by some authors *e.g. *1998) considered that Bamyaniceras is indicative of Teth- Glenister and Furnish, 1961, p. 697). The speci®c yan or warm-water faunas. Its genozone ranges from Artins- assignment of Lee *1980)'s suessi is arguable. The kian through Wordian *Zhou et al., 1999). Pronoritidae gen. Sungai Cheroh form has a relatively large size, exceed- and sp. indet. and two nautiloids, Tainoceras sp. and Ortho- ing 50 mm in diameter; it may not be conspeci®c to A. cerida fam. indet., were also recovered. They are of little suessi, which is generally smaller *see Davis, 1972, p. biostratigraphic value, but Tainoceras marks the ®rst for 64). No particular similarities between the Bera South Malaysia. and Sungai Cheroh shells are established. Davis *1972, p. 63) considered that a deep depression on the ¯ank of A. suessi is distinctive of the type species. A 4. Systematic palaeontology similar, but less apparent, feature is present in some of the Bera South specimens *UKM-F402and 403±Fig. 4*2,3)), Class CEPHALOPODA Cuvier, 1797 and this may imply a relationship to A. suessi. Sone and Subclass AMMONOIDEA Zittel, 1884 Leman *2000) described another form of Agathiceras sp. Order GONIATITIDA Hyatt, 1884 from a lower Guadalupian bed of Felda Mayam, northern Suborder GONIATITINA Hyatt, 1884 Bera. It has a ¯atter ¯ank with more acute and narrower lirae Superfamily GONIATITOIDEA de Haan, 1825 than the Bera South form. Family AGATHICERATIDAE Arthaber, 1911 Genus Agathiceras Gemmellaro, 1887 Superfamily POPANOCERATOIDEA Hyatt, 1900 Agathiceras sp. Family POPANOCERATIDAE Hyatt, 1900 Genus Tauroceras Toumanskaya, 1938 Fig. 4*1±4) Tauroceras aff. scrobiculatum *Gemmellaro, 1887) Description.ThegenusAgathiceras is characterised by distinctive longitudinal lirae and a small umbilicus. Fig. 4*5±7) The present shells are medium-sized to moderately large Compare: for the genus, ranging 30±40 mm in diameter, and are Popanoceras scrobiculatum Gemmellaro, 1887, p. 23± lenticular to ovate in cross-section. The conch is invo- 24, pl. 3, ®gs. 22±26; pl. 8, ®g. 26 lute, with gently convex ¯anks. Phragmocone constric- Popanoceras scrobiculatum Gemmellaro, 1888, pl. B, tions are not preserved. The apertural margin bears an ®gs. 2±4 adoral extension. The longitudinal lirae, about 50±54 in Tauroceras scrobiculatum *Gemmellaro); Toumanskaya, number, are regular and spiral. A weak, elongate radial 1938, p. 145±146, ®gs. 1±4 808 M. Sone et al. / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 19 2001) 805±814 Popanoceras cf. scrobiculatum Gemmellaro; Lee, 1980, saddles are spatulate, and prongs of the lobes are widely p. 69, pl. 3, ®g. 12 rounded. The ventrolateral saddle is clearly bi®d. The Tauroceras cf. scrobiculatum *Gemmellaro); VasÏÂõcÏek primary lateral lobe is almost equal or slightly smaller and Kullmann, 1988, p. 108, pl. 2, ®g. 7 than the adjacent primary umbilical lobe. The ventral portion of the suture is uncertain. Remarks. The present form is considered to be closely Remarks. This species is the second most common form related to the type species, T. scrobiculatum *Gemmellaro), in the present fauna. The bi®d ventrolateral saddles and from the Sosio limestone of Sicily *Italy) based upon similar large primary lateral lobes are suggestive of Bamyaniceras. ornament. Shells are medium-sized for the genus, as judged This distinguishes the genus from its closest relative, Propi- from the size of the ornament. The height of the whorl is at nacoceras Gemmellaro, which has small primary lateral least 24 mm for Specimen UKM-F406. The ¯anks are lobes and large wedge-shaped primary umbilical lobes. almost ¯at, with a weak longitudinal ventrolateral depres- Comparisons. The present species differs from most other sion. Growth lamellae are well preserved; they are sinuous representatives of the genus in having spatulate saddles and and salient, and each lamella is ventrolaterally bi®d and widely rounded prongs of lobes. The type species, Bamya- occasionally tri®d, almost identical to those of the Sicilian niceras bouyxi Termier and Termier *1970, p. 94, pl. 9, ®gs. type species. The suture is not preserved, precluding con®- 1 and 2, text-®g. 1), from an Artinskian *Early Permian) bed dent assignment to the type species. of the Bamyan Mountain, Afghanistan, has elongate saddles P. cf. scrobiculatum Gemmellaro was illustrated by Lee and acute prongs of lobes. B. simile *Haniel, 1915, p. 34, pl. *1980, p. 69, pl. 3, ®g. 12) from Sungai Cheroh, western 1, ®gs. 1a±b, 2a±b) from Bitauni beds of Timor is smaller Pahang. It also displays prominent, bi®d growth lines, simi- than the Bera South shell. B. australe *Teichert, 1942, p. lar to those of T. scrobiculatum, as also pointed out by 224, pl. 35, ®gs. 2±7; also in Glenister and Furnish, 1961, p. Glenister and Furnish *1988, p. 51). Due to a lack of 691, pl. 78, ®gs. 6±13) from the Wandagee Formation complete material, a con®dent and detailed comparison of *Kungurian) of Western Australia has narrow lateral lobes. the Bera South and Sungai Cheroh forms cannot be Propinacoceras sp. illustrated by Zhou *1988, pl. 10, ®gs. achieved. Nevertheless, they are very likely related to 1±3) from an Artinskian bed of southwest Guizhou, South each other and to the type species. China, is doubtlessly a species of Bamyaniceras, judged from a bi®d ventrolateral saddle and subequal sizes of a Order PROLECANITIDA Miller and Furnish, 1954 primary lateral lobe and a primary umbilical lobe. Prongs Superfamily MEDLICOTTIOIDEA Karpinsky, 1889 of its lobes are slightly more acute than the Bera South Family MEDLICOTTIIDAE Karpinsky, 1889 forms. Subfamily PROPINACOCERATINAE Plummer and Scott, 1937 Family PRONORITIDAE Frech, 1901 Genus Bamyaniceras Termier and Termier, 1970 Pronoritidae gen. and sp. indet. Bamyaniceras orientale n. sp. Figs. 6*1±6) and 7 Figs. 4*8±13) and 5 Remarks. This species is large, attaining at least 70 mm in Holotype. Specimen UKM-F408 illustrated in Figs. 4*8) conch diameter, with the height of the whorl approximately and 5 38 mm for Specimen UKM-F414. The conch is involute and Paratypes. Eight specimens *UKM-F409±413, 420±422) discoidal, with a moderate umbilicus. The shell is lenticular are available *measurements in Table 2). Four ventral casts in cross-section with a retuse venter, but this is probably due *UKM-F409±412) and one ventrolateral cast *UKM-F413) to deformation to some extent. The shell surface is smooth, are ®gured. with faint, irregular wrinkles. A longitudinal groove is Diagnosis. External sutures with spatulate saddles and conspicuous on the ¯ank of Specimen UKM-F414, but widely rounded prongs of lobes. Primary lateral lobes are this may also be an artefact of tectonic deformation. The almost equal or slightly smaller than adjacent umbilical external suture is not well preserved, consisting of approxi- dorsal lobes. mately 5 or 6 lateral saddles and 1 ventrolateral saddle; the Description. The shell is medium-sized for the genus. The primary lateral lobe seems large *UKM-F414±Fig. 7). The conch is involute, with a small umbilicus. The ¯attened discoidal conch with no prominent sculpture and the suture venter bears two rows of prominent transversely elongate with simple goniatitic umbilical lobes and a proportionally nodes, which are separated by a moderately wide, shallow large primary lateral lobe suggest possible location in median groove. Each node attains about 2.5 mm in vertical Pronoritidae. length and 8 mm in lateral width on the largest specimen UKM-F412. The ventral shoulders are moderately rounded, Subclass NAUTILOIDEA Agassiz, 1847 and the sides are ¯at. The external suture is preserved in the Order NAUTILIDA Agassiz, 1847 possibly semi-mature UKM-F408 whose conch is 44 mm in Superfamily TAINOCERATOIDEA Hyatt, 1883 diameter; it consists of 9 or 10 lateral lobes *Fig. 5). The Family TAINOCERATIDAE Hyatt, 1883 M. Sone et al. / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 19 2001) 805±814 809

Fig. 4. 1±4, Agathiceras sp., lateral views, all internal casts, £ 1.5; 1, UKM-F401., 2, UKM-F402., 3, UKM-F403., 4, UKM-F404. 5±7, T. aff. scrobiculatum *Gemmellaro), lateral views, £ 1.5; 5, internal cast, UKM-F405., 6, rubber cast of the external mould, UKM-F406., 7, internal cast, UKM-F407. 8±13, B. orientale n. sp.; 8, internal mould of the lateral ¯ank, £ 1.5, UKM-F408, holotype., 9, cast of the venter, £ 2.0, UKM-F409., 10, cast of the venter, £ 2.0, UKM-F410., 11, cast of the venter, £ 1.5, UKM-F411., 12, cast of the venter, £ 1.5, UKM-F412., 13, lateral view of the internal mould, £ 2.0, UKM-F413.

Subfamily TAINOCERATINAE Hyatt, 1883 Genus Tainoceras Hyatt, 1883 Tainoceras sp.

Figs. 6*7,8) and 8*1,2) Description. Two specimens of internal moulds *one venter and one lateral portion) were available. The shells are small- sized for the genus, attaining 25 mm in conch diameter *Speci- men UKM-F418). The conch is evolute, with a large umbilicus. The umbilical border is marked by an acute edge. The Fig. 5. External suture of B. orientale n. sp., £ 2.4, Sample UKM-F408, umbilical slope is relatively long. The shell bears a double row holotype, at a conch diameter of 44 mm. of nodes on the venter, characteristic of Tainoceras.The 810 M. Sone et al. / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 19 2001) 805±814

Fig. 6. 1±6, Pronoritidae gen. and sp. indet.; 1±4, lateral *left and right), anterior and posterior views, £ 1.0, UKM-F414., 5, cast of the fragmentary ¯ank, £ 1.0, UKM-F415., 6, cast of the fragmentary ¯ank, £ 1.0, UKM-F416. 7±8, Tainoceras sp.; 7, fragmentary internal mould of the venter, £ 2.0, UKM-F417., 8, lateral view, £ 2.0, UKM-F418. 9, Orthocerida fam. indet., lateral view, £ 2.0, UKM-F419.

venter is rather ¯attened, and the ventral nodes are weak, appearing as blunt keels. The ¯ank is ¯attened or slightly concave, with radial ribs which are moderate but are strong on the whorl. The whorl section is conceived to be approxi- Table 2 mately subquadrate. Sutures are only slightly sinuous on Dimensions *in mm.) and ratios of B. orientale n. sp., D Conch diameter, both the venter *UKM-F417) and ¯ank *UKM-F418) H Conch height, W Conch width, UD Umbilical diameter. *Fig. 8). Specimen number DHWUDH/DW/DUD/D Comparisons. The present species differs from most other congeneric forms of the genus in possessing the large UKM-F408 *holotype) 44.0 26.0 ± 1.5 0.59 ± 0.03 outside umbilical diameter, blunt umbilical shoulder and UKM-F409 ± ± 3.0 ± ± ± ± weak ventral nodes. Several Tethyan species of Tainoceras UKM-F410 ± ± 4.0 ± ± ± ± UKM-F411 ± ± 8.5 ± ± ± ± have been reported *e.g. Kayser, 1883; Frech, 1911; Reed, UKM-F412± ± 17.0 ± ± ± ± 1931, 1944; Chao, 1954; Ehiro, 1995; Ehiro and Araki, UKM-F413 ± 10.0 4.5 1.0 ± ± ± 1997). T. orientale *Kayser, 1883, p. 163, pl. 19, ®g. 2) UKM-F420 23.5 13.5 5.0 1.0 0.57 0.21 0.04 from a possible Lopingian *Late Permian) bed of the Loping UKM-F421 47.0 27.5 ± 2.0 0.58 ± 0.04 area, South China, has similarly spaced rows of ventral UKM-F422 50.0 28.0 ± 2.5 0.56 ± 0.05 nodes. Its nodes, however, are more prominent than those M. Sone et al. / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 19 2001) 805±814 811 of the Malaysian species, and it seems to lack a blunt umbilical border. T. changlingpuense Chao *1954, p. 34, pl. 3, ®gs. 5±8) from a Kungurian bed of Hunan, South China, is also similar in having a ¯attened venter, but it possesses a noticeably transverse conch and a small umbilicus. With more and better preserved material, recognition of a new species from Malaysia is likely.

Order ORTHOCERIDA KuÈhn, 1940 Orthocerida fam. indet.

Fig. 6*9) Remarks. The small, slender orthocone *UKM-F419) is 32mm long, with surface ornament of relatively coarse, salient transverse lirae. Other detail is not known, and the specimen is probably of an immature portion of the phragmocone.

5. Correlation and age of the fauna Fig. 7. Lateral *left) view of Pronoritidae gen. and sp. indet., £ 1.0, Sample UKM-F414, with external suture preserved. Conch diameter Lee *1980) described three ammonoid species, Adrianites approximately 70 mm. elegans Gemmellaro, Agathiceras suessi Gemmellaro and Popanoceras cf. scrobiculatum Gemmellaro, from Sungai *River) Cheroh, north of Raub, western Pahang. He considered that this assemblage is related to the Sicilian Sosio fauna and thus is Wordian in age. The speci®c identi®cation of Lee's A. suessi is uncertain, as already discussed. Yet the occurrence of the two species, A. elegans and ªTaurocerasº cf. scrobiculatum, suggests a possible correlation with the Wordian Sosio beds. Species of Adrianites are also con®ned to the Wordian *Zhou et al., 1999). Lee's assignment of the Fig. 8. External sutures of Tainocerassp., 1, ventral suture, £ 2.8, Sample Sungai Cheroh fauna to a Wordian age seems correct. He UKM-F417, at the venter width of approximately 10 mm. 2, lateral suture, presented only a broad map of the Sungai Cheroh area, £ 2.8, Sample UKM-F418, at a conch diameter of 24 mm. without details of the exact ammonoid locality. Its outcrop

Fig. 9. Correlation chart of the Bera South, Sungai Cheroh, northern Oman, northeastern Iraq and Sosio faunas, with a time-scale of the Bera Formation. The duration of each stage *Roadian, Wordian and Capitanian) of the Guadalupian Series refers to Wardlaw *1999). Sg. Sungai, L.P. Lower Permian, U.P. Upper Permian. Only parts of the Upper Permian *Lopingian) and Lower Permian *Cisuralian) are shown. 812 M. Sone et al. / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 19 2001) 805±814 suggests that the two Pahang horizons can be closely corre- lated to each other. This further permits correlations with other cephalopod-bearing beds of northeastern Iraq, northern Oman and Sicily, where T. scrobiculatum and its close ally are present. The co-occurrences of another Wordian species, A. elegans, in the beds of Sungai Cheroh, northern Oman and Sicily, support the correlations. It is concluded that all three fossiliferous horizons Ð Sungai Bera *lower Capitanian), Felda Mayam *Roadian or Wordian) and Bera South *Wordian) Ð of the Bera Formation are stratigraphically con®ned to the Guadalupian Series *see Fig. 9). Yet, a precise stratigraphic relationship between the chronologically close horizons of Felda Mayam and Bera South remains unclear due to a lack of key species.

6. Palaeobiogeographic implications Fig. 10. Locations of the Sungai Cheroh and Bera South areas in the Central Belt, Peninsular Malaysia *1, Raub±Bentong line, 2, Lebir fault zone). Both Bera South and Sungai Cheroh are located within the so-called `Central Belt', which is bounded by the Lebir is supposedly close to Triassic Locality 203 *Sungai Taba) fault zone to the east and by the Raub±Bentong line to the of Jones et al. *1966), or to Localities A-53 or -54 of Yancey west, and which constitutes a part of a Permian±Triassic *1972) from which brachiopods, bivalves, crinoids, sponges marine basin on the East Malaya terrane *Fig. 10). The and jelly®sh of probable ViseÂan *late Early Carboniferous) Raub±Bentong line forms the tectonic boundary between age were reported. the East Malaya and Shan±Thai *Sibumasu) terranes. The presence of the close allies of the Wordian species, T. Geographical proximity *about 130 km) and faunal af®nities scrobiculatum, in both Bera South and Sungai Cheroh between Bera South and Sungai Cheroh suggest that their

Fig. 11. Part of the world map during the Wordian [base map after Fig. 9 *Kazanian, Wordian, Early Maokouan) of Ziegler et al., 1998], and the possible extent of the southern Tethyan cephalopod seaway, as modi®ed from Blendinger et al. *1992). M. Sone et al. / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 19 2001) 805±814 813 cephalopod faunas probably occurred within the same Prof. Ibrahim Komoo provided some ®nancial supports regional basin during the Wordian interval. from their IRPA Projects *nos. 02-02-02-0004 and 02-02- Relationships between the two Malaysian faunas and that 02-0015, respectively). A preparation of the early draft was of the Sicilian Sosio limestone are not clearly de®ned with- ®nanced by M. Sone's parents, Masao and Toshiko Sone, out suf®cient data from Malaysia. The Malaysian occur- while he stayed in Japan in late 1999. rence of Tauroceras aff. and cf. scrobiculatum and Adrianites elegans has been documented in Lee *1980) References and in the present study. It suggests a possible marine faunal connection between Sicily of the western Tethys and central Agassiz, L., 1847. Nomenclatories Zoologici Index Univarsalis. Jent and Peninsular Malaysia *East Malaya) of the eastern Tethys Gassmann, Soloduri, p. 393 *1846±47). during Wordian time. The exact palaeogeographic position Archbold, N.W., 1998. Correlations of the Western Australian Permian and of East Malaya during the Wordian is still uncertain. It is Permian ocean circulation patterns. Proceedings of the Royal Society of supposed to have been located at southern low latitudes as a Victoria 110 *1/2), 85±106. part of Indochina *e.g. Metcalfe, 1999) or as a microconti- Archbold, N.W., Shi, G.R., 1996. Western Paci®c Permian marine inverte- brate palaeobiogeography. Australian Journal of Earth Sciences 43, nent near Indochina and Shan±Thai *e.g. Gatinsky and 635±641. Hutchison, 1986; Sashida and Igo, 1999). Arthaber, G.V., 1911. Die Trias von Albanien. Beitrage zur PalaÈontologie The faunal connection may be explained by the conceptual und Geologie OÈ esterreich±Ungarns und des Orients 24, 169±277 *8 cephalopod seaway of Blendinger et al. *1992) that connected pls). Sicily to the west and Timor to the east along the southern Barron, E.J., Fawcett, P.J., 1995. The climate of Pangaea: a review of climate model simulations of the Permian. In: Scholle, P.A., Peryt, margin of the Wordian Tethys. Niko et al. *1996) supported the T.M., Ulmer-Scholle, D.S. *Eds.). The Permian of Northern Pangea 1. existence of this migratory seaway based on faunal af®nities Springer, Berlin, pp. 37±52. among their nautiloids from Rustaq *northern Oman) and Blendinger, W., Furnish, W.F., Glenister, B.F., 1992. Permian cephalopod those of Timor and Sicily. It is also consistent with the distri- limestones, Oman Mountains: evidence for a Permian seaway along the bution pattern of T. scrobiculatum and its close allies, which northern margin of Gondwana. 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