Fusulines from the Central Asturian Coal? eld (Pennsylvanian, Cantabrian Zone, Spain) and their signi? cance for biostratigraphic correlation

Abstract

The Central Asturian Coalfield of the Cantabrian Zone (NW Spain) exposes a Moscovian (Middle Pennsylvanian) succession, up to 5000-m thick, which records stratigraphically signi? cant terrestrial and marine fossils such as fossil ? ora and fusulines. The present paper focuses on the fusuline-bearing limestones of this succession, which cover a time span ranging from latest Bashkirian to early Myachkovian. 36 fusuline species are described and illustrated, among them the new species Schubertella luisorum Villa. This study reveals that the composition of the Kashirian to early Myachkovian fusuline assemblages is similar to that of the Beedeina-dominated assemblages of the Donets Basin, which were interpreted by Khodjanyazova et al. (2014) as occurring during early high-stands. In parallel with this, the absence of species representing the Fusulinella-dominated assemblages of the later authors is observed, while their Hemifusulina-dominated assemblages are replaced in the Central Asturian Coalfield by monospecific associations of Hemifusulina. Biostratigraphic data inferred from these microfaunas allowed us to assign an age to several informal stratigraphic intervals known as ‘mining stratal packages’ and to propose a tentative correlation with some relevant horizons of the Donets Basin.