| Abstract: | The base of the Clun Forest Formation at Clun, Shropshire, has previously been taken to correlate with the base of the Downton Castle Sandstone Formation (P?ídolí Series, upper Silurian) on the basis of brachiopod, bivalve, gastropod and ostracod faunas. The detailed distribution of microfossils (acritarchs, chitinozoans, conodonts and ostracods) is documented at Nantyrhynau Quarry, Clun, Shropshire, to test this correlation. Three new species of chitinozoans, Eisenackitina clunensis, Eisenackitina kerria and Angochitina paucispinosa, are described from the quarry. Macrofossil and ostracod distributions suggest that the correlation is correct. However, a typical Ludlow acritarch flora is present throughout the section and suggests that the basal part of the Clun Forest Formation is Ludlow in age. The mixture of characteristic Ludlow and P?ídolí microfossils at Nantyrhynau Quarry may be the result of differing environmental conditions between the Ludlow (shelf) and Clun (basinal) areas at this time. Alternatively, the strata exposed at Nantyrhynau Quarry may represent a period towards the end of the Ludlow Series when there are no strata represented in corresponding shelf sections due to non-deposition or erosion. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
