New record of Bathonian-Callovian calcareous nannofossils in the eastern Karakoram block: a possible clue to understanding the dextral offset along the Karakoram Fault

• Published in: Terra nova (Oxford, England) Vol. 17; no. 2; pp. 149 - 157
• Main Authors: Upadhyay, Rajeev, Rai, Jyotsana, Sinha, Anshu K
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Science Ltd 01.04.2005; Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subjects: Ammonoidea; Fossils; Geological time; Geology; Sediments; Watznaueria; Karakoram Range; Asia; India
• ISSN: 0954-4879; 1365-3121
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-3121.2005.00602.x

We report the first record of Bathonian–Callovian calcareous nannofossils from a marine sedimentary sequence of the eastern Karakoram block, in northern India. The calcareous mudstones and packstones, occasionally bearing red chert nodules, yielded calcareous nanofossils and Middle Jurassic Choffatia furcula ammonoids. Middle to Upper Jurassic nannofossil assemblage is dominated by representatives of the genus Watznaueria. The occurrence of Ansulasphaera helvetica whose range is Upper Bathonian–Upper Callovian, indicates a correlation with nannofossil zones NJ12–13. The occurrence of Cyclagelosphaera wiedmannii further infer an Upper Bathonian–Callovian age. These specimens show affinities with those found in a similar sedimentary formation exposed in north Karakoram. This suggests the existence of a narrow and elongated sedimentary basin, oriented in a NW–SE direction, at a latitude of c. 25°–30°N. At that time, the Karakoram block was situated near the already welded Qiangtang block of Asia. The northern and eastern Karakoram blocks were connected during Middle Jurassic. The activity and dextral offset of the Karakoram fault separated the Jurassic sedimentary formations of the northern and eastern Karakoram blocks by c. 150 km.